Gremory's Slayer
by VaranFall
Summary: Being in a world filled with Devils, Angels and everything in between, there's many beings too dangerous to match. But none are quite as recognized as Dragons, considered to be the mightiest beasts. But what makes that of those that take up the mantle to take their magic and use it for their own, to serve as an enemy and earn the title Dragon Slayer
1. Drake

_**BEEP BEEP BEEP**_

"Morning already?" A boy yawned as he heard his alarm go off, slowly sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His overall appearance would be considered completely impossible; from his brown angular eyes and black and blond hair that split across his head vertically. His hair was in a complete mess, spiking up a bit in every direction.

When he got out of bed, he revealed his total height of 5'2. He had on a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt, most of his body.

Walking into his bathroom, the boy would look himself in the mirror, seeing his frenzied hair and chuckling. "Heh, look what the dragon spat out." He laughed to himself, reaching his hands up to fix the mess of hair. Spiking it appropriately, he was able to appear more presentable, with the blond and black hair mixing in a unique pattern.

Taking a minute to brush up, he grinned widely at the mirror to take in all his appearance, nodding and smirking before walking out. Now contempt with his hair, he was quick to put on his school uniform. The full uniform consisted of a black blazer, white dress shirt with black accents, matching black pants, and a pair of dress shoes.

However unlike everyone else, the boy forgone the blazer, putting on a long sleeved blue shirt underneath his unbuttoned dress shirt. He put on a pair of black and blue sneakers, finishing up and leaving his room after grabbing his school bag.

When he reached them, he didn't even hesitate to slide down the railings of the town's orphanage, sighing at the smell of eggs and toast. The sounds of over a dozen kids talking and eating brought a smile to his face, which was shared as the all of the kids saw him.

"Drake!"

"Good morning squirts!" He grinned back as he walked past the several tables' worth of kids, high fiving each one as he went by. He then stopped as he saw a seven-year-old girl with her hair down hide her face, failing to contain her giggling.

Drake shook his head in response, reaching down and pulling a hair tie from his pocket. "You're seriously going to make me tie your hair back every morning Sasha?"

The girl giggled in response, smiling back to him once he was done. "You're just too good at it! Every time I try I just mess up and it looks ugly." She said as he tied her hair back into a ponytail.

"You, ugly? I don't believe you." Drake responded as he ruffled the top of her head, getting a round of laughs from the table before his ears perked up. At the next second he brought his hand up in time to catch a wooden broom from hitting him.

"What did I say about sleeping in you brat!?" The source of the shouting, and by extent the broom, came from an elderly woman stepping from behind the kitchen counter. She was slim and surprisingly tall, standing taller than Drake. She had pink hair tied in a bun behind her head by two large pins with crescent shaped edges, and two bangs from her hair to frame her face. Aside from her red eyes and beauty mark below her mouth, the rest of her was that expected of a foster mother.

"S-Sorry Porlyusica!" Drake stuttered as he held the broom. "I set my alarm wrong and woke up later than I expected!"

"That was your excuse yesterday brat!" The woman shouted, grabbing another broom from seemingly nowhere while glaring at him. "You're supposed to be making breakfast, it's what I pay you for!"

"Um… you don't pay me."

"I allow you to sleep under a roof and even send you to school, I'm doing more than enough as payment for you!"

"Ah crap." Drake muttered as he released his broom, looking to the door for a quick escape.

Holding his hand behind his back, he gave a silent thank you when he felt Sasha place a piece of bread in his hand. Waiting for when the old woman was close enough, Drake would spring into action and jump over the table to his right, passing by two boys and rolling across the ground before booking it.

"Sorry Granny! I'll make dinner to make it up!" He shouted as he ran out the door, Porlyusica waving her broom widely at where he left.

"Get back in here this instant you brat!"

Drake then pocked his head back in, the toast with strawberry jam hanging from his mouth comedically as he stared back. "And get hit by your broom? Nah I'll wait until you've cooled down."

"You brat!" As he ran off and closed the door, Drake couldn't help but grin at hearing the old lady call him out is such a way. The energy from the morning was more than a welcome to him, encouraging him as he ate his toast and headed for his school building: Kuoh Academy.

Kuoh was a decent sized town in the heart of Japan, not a blazing city but large enough that it'd take a good jog to get to the academy. Nothing he worried about as he moved around pedestrians with a wide grin, keeping the toast in his mouth.

* * *

After a couple minutes of straight running he reached the entrance of Kuoh, letting him take the toast out of his mouth and take a bite while he walked through the courtyard. As he munched on his breakfast, he began to think to himself the same thing he always did in the morning. Something that while simple, often had dozens of different answers to them.

_'I wonder where Ise and the others are?'_

"Oh shit!"

"There's my answer." Drake smirked before shoving the rest of his toast into his mouth and running after the source of the shout. He only heard a single shout, meaning most likely that Issei was abandoned by the other two to suffer the fate all three deserved.

Of course though, by the time he made it to where he heard the scream behind the girl's locker room, it was too late and Issei was left lying on the ground in a heap. Seeing him in the condition, Drake fell and sat down next to him, pulling out grass and raining it down on his face.

"So you guys got caught again huh?" Drake asked as he looked down to Issei, the boy shaking his head to get the grass off of his face as he sat up.

"Yeah, and I didn't even get a good look at the jiggly goodness." Issei said, looking down in disappointment.

"Pft, good luck with that with the guys always hogging the good stuff." Drake chuckled, grinning as he mocked Issei. "We've been here for over a year and yet you can't even manage to get a girlfriend. Shows a lot about with your dream of being Harem King, huh?"

"Don't you dare mock such a noble and esteemed goal!"

"Hey Ise, you still alive?" Matsuda called out as he and Motohama approached the two, seeing Drake next to him. "Oh Drake, you actually made it here on time today?"

"Yeah, Granny was upset and I had to get the hell out of dodge on that one." Drake explained, grinning as he rubbed the back of his head. "I knew you guys start your perv raids early, but I wasn't expecting it to happen right away like that."

"You gonna come on one again ever?" Motohama asked, shifting his glasses. "We could use the protection if we get caught."

"Last time that happened Asha kicked the crap out of me." Drake reminded the trio, recalling beating they all suffered.

All of them shivered at the memory, nervous even at the mention of the name. "I still I have trouble sitting down after what she did." Matsuda commented. "But that's why we're being extra certain to avoid the Martial Arts Club from now on when she's around! But we're not in a rush to go there again."

"As much fun as that would be, I'll probably pass on that." Drake turned the offer down, lying back on the grass. "Granny is mad I've missed the past couple days on breakfast duty, so I probably need to make up for that otherwise I'm sleeping outside for a week."

"She wouldn't actually do that to you, would she?"

"She's done it before, and the last time taught me my lesson." Drake then stood up, rubbing the back of his head as he grinned. "She let me in for food, but I had to sleep outside. She gave me a blanket at least so it wasn't horrible." His ears then twitched as he felt he was being watched, turning to the school building in time to see a flock of red hair vanish from the window.

"Something wrong Drake?" Issei asked, causing Drake to shake his head.

"Nah, I just had a weird feeling was all." He responded, looking over to him. "Anyways, I'm going to head off to class now. Try not to get in trouble in the ten minutes between now and homeroom!" Drake then took off, running for the main entrance.

Once he was in, Drake slowed his pace down to a walk. As he did, he could hear the subtle conversations of the people around him. It wasn't anything new to him, most people gossiped about his mix hair and how it reflects on him. For as long as he could remember, most people saw it as a sign of him being in the middle stage of delinquency, deciding of whether or not to take that final step. Of course that was far from the case, as Porlyusica would bury him alive if he was even remotely a delinquent; but of course no one would possibly know that since most avoid him.

"Well, well, someone's getting the same stares as usual." Drake stopped and turned to see the source of the voice; staring at his senior student Dante Entria. Dante was a third year student, one year above Drake and stood somewhere around six feet even. He had nearly golden blond hair and surprisingly golden eyes; nearly making him the ideal foreign look. He was wearing the full uniform, his blazer buttoned up almost the whole way, leaving the top two open to reveal his dress shirt and a yellow undershirt.

"Hey Dante, how have you been? Keeping out of trouble better than Ise?" Drake asked, smiling at his senior.

"Not really, just got out of the Student Council's office for playing a prank on the ORC." He admitted, smirking as he shrugged his shoulders.

The two had known each other for roughly two years now, since Kuoh allowed boys into the school roster. And in that time they formed a close bond to reach the casual level they have. Drake knew less on Dante than most people would suspect, however he never even questioned the legitimacy of their friendship despite that.

"Seriously, you chose to prank the Occult research Club before the day even started?" Drake sighed as stared at his senior. "The most popular club in the whole school and that's who you pick. One of these day's I swear your going to piss off the wrong person and end up dead."

"Like that will ever stop me. If I end up pissing off someone high on the food chain, I'll go all dragon on them and beat them to a pulp!" Dante chuckled, striking a pose as he did to solidify the point.

"Are you ever going to actually show me what you mean by that? You always talk about it but never once have you revealed it." Drake questioned.

"Sorry bud, but a secret's got to stay the way it is. You are not yet ready to come to face with the awesomeness of a dragon."

"Aw come on, that isn't fair Dante!" Drake pouted, looking away as he did. "Give me one reason, one good reason why I can't be allowed to see it."

"One good reason? Okay then, how about the fact that it's your dream to kill a dragon?" Dante asked, smirking as he did. "Or how you'd never shut up if you actually saw one? I could add more on if you'd like."

"But that's the best kind of dream! Who wouldn't want to be a fully realized Dragon Slayer? Being able to reach a feat that no one says is even possible!"

"What would you even do to fight one? I mean, do you even know the first thing about actually fighting a dragon, much less on killing one?"

"H-Hey… I know a few tricks on them." Drake stuttered, poking his fingers together as he looked away. "And Granny's given me a few lessons on hand-to-hand, so I wouldn't be helpless."

"Oh my god!" Dante began to laugh. "You think a couple punches and kicks can kill a dragon!?" He then reached out and ruffled Drake's hair, grinning widely as he did. "I can tell you one thing my kouhai: it takes more than that to kill a dragon. And even if you know their weaknesses, what's the point of that if you can't exploit them?"

"I'll have my ways!" Drake argued as he backed up to get away from Dante's hand. "I might not be able to kill one now, but just you wait! You'll see one day that I'll get stronger and be capable of killing dragons! I'll become the greatest Dragon Slayer to ever live!"

Laughter than began to erupt through the hall, making Drake realize that he had just announced that louder than he was expecting. He then looked down as his face became red with embarrassment. He wasn't ashamed in his dream, but the fact that everyone was laughing at him struck a blow at his pride.

_'Why does everyone have to laugh? It isn't some joke that they can just make fun of!'_

"I like it!" Dante spoke with enthusiasm, his response surprising everyone and stopping their laughing. He then placed a hand on Drake's shoulder supportively and raised a fist up, grinning with excitement. "There's no better a dream than those people would deem you crazy for! That will make it all the more rewarding when you accomplish it!"

The support got a bright smile from Drake, who nodded his head and raised both his fists up. "Hell yeah!"

Dante then surprised Drake as he released his shoulder and flicked his head. "It makes me proud to see the amount of spirit you have in you. Having that much will make you a very special person in the future. I have no doubt that one day you'll be able to accomplish your dream. Just keep your chin up and keep marching forward like no one has control over you."

"You got it Dante!"

He then gave a single chuckle before turning away and walking off. "You may want to start moving now though. Class is about to start soon."

Drake's eyes then widened as he looked around and realized that most of the other students were gone. And looking at the clock saw that he had less than a minute to make it to his class on time. "Oh crap!" He shouted before running for his homeroom, moving with purpose as he had a lot of ground to cover and head up the stairs.

He would have little time before he finally reached his classroom, opening it up rapidly in time as the bell rung. "I'm here!" He announced, panting lightly as he looked around to see the rest of the class in and seated.

A majority of the class was looking at him and stifling their laughter as they saw him. Drake's shoulders would slump down as he closed the door and walked in, knowing that most were laughing because they heard his dream. He then moved to his seat and sat down without so much as a word, his embarrassment of being laughed at returning as he looked down to his desk.

His wallowing was then interrupted as his shoulder was nudged, getting him to turn to the student next to him. "Yuuto?" Kiba Yuuto was one of Drake's classmates, and one that he rarely, if ever, spoke to before. He was extremely popular in the school, having been given the prestigious title the Prince of Kuoh by the female student body. He had bright blond hair and blue eyes, and always seemed to be smiling. Along with his rumored kind nature, it wasn't a surprise that he was as popular as he was.

"What's up Yuuto?" Drake asked, staring at him in confusion.

"I just wanted to tell you that I heard your dream Drake." He informed, getting Drake to look back down.

"Oh… so are you going to ridicule me on how impossible it is? Or that it's a complete waste of time and that I should focus on the real world instead?"

"Actually, I wanted to say that it's a very special dream." Yuuto said, surprising Drake. "And if it means so much to you, never give up on it. It would be wrong to give up on a dream as special as that one."

"You… you're serious Yuuto? You're not pulling my leg here are you?"

"Not at all." He stated, shaking his head. "Dreams are a good way of judging character, and I can tell yours means that you're determined." He then turned to the front of the room as the lesson started. "And please, call me Kiba. It's what my friends call me."

Drake continued to stare at Kiba in shock, honestly surprised at the words given by him. Eventually though he managed to smile as he turned to the front, unable to keep a grin from forming. "Thanks Kiba, that means a lot."

* * *

"Ooooooww…" Drake groaned in pain as he finished cleaning off the dishes, a large bump on his head from getting hit in the head by Porlyusica. "Granny, you didn't have to hit me that hard… and on the head no less."

"It's the only way that gets you to listen brat." She responded, watching him carefully as he placed the dishes away. "Not only do you skip breakfast, you leave when I was in the middle of talking to you. You're lucky I didn't do worse to you."

"I know…" he whined, hanging his head down as he rubbed his bump. "Still, I think using your ladle was overkill."

"It wouldn't be much different than the broom."

"Your ladle's made of metal! The broom's just wood it would break on my head before reaching that level of pain!"

"Don't you yell at me brat!" Porlyusica shouted back as she pulled on his cheeks. "You have no right to criticize my methods if you're the one who keeps making me have to push further! If you just listened and behaved then I wouldn't have to discipline you so much!"

"You hit in the head! That's hardly an equal punishment!"

"Like it would even dent your thick skull brat! Twelve years of dealing with you and nothing can get through to you!"

"I am nothing if not stubborn!"

"That isn't a good thing brat!"

After the routine ten minutes of arguing, Porlyusica eventually released Drake and he went up to change, putting on a pair of sweatpants and a thin sleeveless vest that he kept open to go on top of his short sleeve blue shirt. With his arms exposed, he was revealed to have a decent build, not muscled but above average. Although his right arm was wrapped from his wrist to his elbow in bandages, known only to the two of them.

"I'm heading out to get the groceries Granny, I should be back in an hour if I take my usual route." Drake called out, heading for the door.

"It's late, so avoid going down any alleys. And remember to avoid the usual suspects when in town if you see them." Porlyusica reminded, sitting on one of the couches and reading a book.

"Right, I read you loud and clear Granny." He waved as he headed out, closing the door and locking it with his key. It was an uneventful walk to the store, the boy humming to keep him entertained as he read the list Porlyusica wrote for him.

"Thank you for walking me Yuuto, I just got so distracted that I lost track of the time." Drake heard a girl say from the aisle, his ears twitching as he heard the response.

"Of course, it's the least I could do for you." He heard Kiba say, his eyes going down as he did.

_'Oh… Kiba's one of them too.'_ He thought somberly as he continued with his shopping, being sure to avoid Kiba and the girl as much as possible as he did. By some miracle he managed to dodge them, finding everything he needed and starting his trek back to the orphanage.

_'Of course he's one of them, he's part of the ORC after all.'_ Drake cursed mentally as he kicked himself. _'Stupid, you knew about that for the past year now! How could you forget what Granny said about them!'_

He then sighed as he looked up, seeing the full moon glow bright as it acted as his company. "Guess that ruins the whole "friends" thing I just got with him. Just when I thought someone else was going to be added in that curve ball comes in."

Drake's phone then began to ring in his pocket, leaving Drake to put the groceries in his left hand down and dig it out. Flipping it open, he saw that it was Issei calling him, and answered it as he remained at the top of a small hill with railings next to him.

"Yo, what's up Ise?"

"Hey man, sorry if I caught you at a bad hour. I just couldn't decide whether to surprise you tomorrow or just tell you because of how excited I am!" Issei responded, sounding more and more excited as he did.

"Oh, did something happen earlier?" Drake asked, sounding entertained by Issei's excitement. It served as a good distraction from the whole Kiba situation; he was also glad to hear his friend so happy.

"Only the best thing that could've happened! Drake, a girl asked to be my girlfriend!" That news caused Drake to spit out in shock, actually choking on the air he was breathing from the suddenness.

"Holy shit dude, you're not jacking with me here are you!?"

"Nope, this guy's officially off the single list and working his way down to bone town!"

"There's a few stops before you get there buddy."

"Yeah, I know and I'm going to be working hard for it, but hot damn dude I actually got a girlfriend!" Issei cheered, causing Drake to chuckle. "I haven't been so pumped before in my life, I feel like I could die at any minute!"

"I'd bet, another step closer to your "dream" then. Just don't mess it up." Drake said as he looked down the hill, seeing the empty roadway across the gap. "So got any plans with her? A big date to kick off the relationship?"

"About that… there's another reason I called you." Issei spoke, sounding a little less enthusiastic as he did.

"Shoot." Drake said, blinking in confusion as he saw someone walking down the street he was looking at. He couldn't make out who, but he could tell that they were wearing a Kuoh uniform, and that they smelled familiar from this distance.

"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO!" Issei's shouting caused Drake to recoil from his phone, his ear ringing for a second from the sheer volume.

"Damn man, watch the tone!" Drake winced as he put the phone back to his ear. "You know my ears are sensitive, shouting your lungs out is just going to make me go deaf this close."

"S-Sorry…" Issei stuttered. "So anyways… I was wondering if you'd be able to sort of… you know… help me out in coming up with a plan? For the date I mean?"

Drake shrugged in response, smiling as he did. "I mean, I don't have a problem with it. And if it means keeping you from utterly scaring this girl away, I'm willing to lend a hand in it." Drake's eyes then narrowed as he saw a second figure move through the street as the first person vanished from sight. This figure's shape was much different, appearing almost as if it was slithering across the way.

"Thank man! You're a life savior!" Issei thanked over the phone. "So if it's okay, could I come over tomorrow to introduce you two? We don't have class and you might be able to get a better read on her than me since you grew up around so many girls."

"It wasn't that many Ise, and I didn't even know two of them for a year." Drake then felt his instincts begin to kick in, the figure vanishing from his sight and getting him antsy. "Hey Ise, do you mind if we continue this tomorrow? I gotta get home before some of the groceries go bad."

"Oh, I caught you shopping, yeah it's no problem man." Issei responded, knowing that Drake preferred to shop early in the night rather than during the day. "I'll see you tomorrow. Man I can't wait to introduce you to Yuuma!"

"Sure, just don't disappoint me and reveal that's just what you named your left hand this time." The two then shared a chuckle and hung up, Drake flipping his phone and placing it in his pocket before jumping over the railing, dropping the rest of his groceries as he ran for where the figures went.

'_I don't like this, my skin started to crawl after seeing the second figure go by.'_ He thought as he turned and followed the path. _'It can't be anything good if it's this late at night. That's when They like to show up.'_

It took five minutes of running through the street and alley's, but he eventually saw one of the figures in a dark alley. Taking a single sniff of the air he could tell that it was the first one he saw, but a second made him aware of the other figure being above them.

"Look out!" He shouted as he ran forward, surprising the person in the alley as the turned to him as the figure above them jumped down. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, Drake prepared himself and lunged with as much power as he could, moving up to intercept the figure.

Kicking out, he managed to connect a blow against the figure, feeling as if he was hitting a wall but managing to knock it a few feet away and land on the ground. He landed on a foot and knee, wincing as he rubbed the numbness in his foot away.

_'Crap… that thing's skin must be tougher than I thought.'_ He thought as he eventually stood back on both feet, turning back to see who he aided.

"Are you oka-ack!" His jaw then dropped in panic as he was standing in front of Akeno Himejima, a third year student in Kuoh.

Akeno was easily in the top three most popular students in the academy, given her kind demeanor and voluptuous body. She had bright violet eyes, long black hair tied back in a ponytail by an orange ribbon, and flawless pale skin. She stood at around 5'6, making her two inches taller than the boy in front of her. There was also one key feature about her, the very one that made his jaw drop from the realization.

She's the vice president of the Occult Research Club, and someone important enough that Porlyusica specifically told him to never interact with.

_'Granny's going to kill me…'_

"Etheron?" Akeno asked, confused and surprised at his appearance. Her demeanor then changed as she held a hand out, sparks of electricity dancing between her fingers. "Get down!"

"Eep!" Drake didn't even question her as he ducked down, giving her the clear to fire a bolt of lightning out of her hand and hit the figure that approached him while he was distracted. "Oh yeah, forgot about that thing." He thought with a sweatdrop, turning back to see what was before them.

It was a twisted shape of a beast, appearing to be a massive snake with a human woman's torso. She was decorated with white scales across her body; almost acting as cover for her if not for the fact her breasts were still visible. Her arms were also mutated, appearing as snake bodies with two razor fanged heads instead of hands.

"Etheron, you must leave now." Akeno ordered, lightning sparking between her hands as she readied another attack. "You must run and not turn back. It is the only way to guarantee your life's safety."

"Yeah, you're probably right on that." Drake commented as he stood back up, clenching his hands into fists as he stared at the monster in front of him. "But now that I know that a Stray Devil's here, I can't turn back and feel good about it. That's not the way I am."

'_He knows about Devils?'_ Akeno thought, confused at the revelation before she saw Drake run right at the Stray, snapping her back to attention.

"Etheron, stop!"

**"You're not the snack I was after, but if you come right to me you'll do!"** The Stray Devil growled as it sent its two limbs at Drake, the boy managing to jump over the first one and narrowly avoid the second. As the limbs came back he felt the first one's teeth just graze him, cutting through his clothes at his knee.

As the second one was about to pass however, he grabbed ahold of it and wouldn't let go, getting pulled with it to right at the Stray. Using the momentum, he released it and reared his fist back, getting close to it as the Stray opened its mouth.

**"Fool! You're just making it easier to-!"**

"Fire Dragon…" The boy began to announce as his fist erupted in flames, shocking both the Stray Devil and Akeno.

**"A mage!?"**

"Iron Fist!" Seeing the Stray close its mouth as it realized his plan, Drake slammed his fist right into its face, knocking it back a bit from the impact. "Charge up that lightning!" He shouted as he jumped back, dodging the snake Stray's limbs as it attempted to bite him.

Flipping back and landing on his hands, Drake quickly pushed himself up to avoid the next bite. Flipping forward over his shoulder, he engulfed his right foot in flames and brought it down on the Stray's main head. "Fire Dragon Talon!" The attack caused the Stray to move down, but it fought against his force and flipped him over it, causing him to land on his back behind it.

"Ah crap…" He groaned from the impact, quickly rolling to the side to avoid the next attack and quickly get back up in time to duck under its twin jaws. The wall behind him cracked from the snake heads, causing him to chuckle nervously. "Hehe… m-missed me…"

"**You're dead human!"** The Stray laughed as it opened its jaw and clamped down on his left arm, digging its fangs into his arm for a second before it erupted in flames and forced it to release him.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Feeling the spike of pain, Drake fought against it and struck the Stray Devil's stomach, the sudden impact causing it to lose ground and flop between him and Akeno. "Akeno!"

"It's read." Akeno responded, smiling as the built up lightning in her palms sparked brighter and she licked her lips. "Time for your punishment."

**"I won't let you-!" **The Stray began to spoke, but was stopped as it felt an incoming heat from behind. Turning back to Drake, it saw his fist reared back as fire covered his entire arm.

"Fire Dragon Pillar!" Throwing his fist forward, a pillar of flames came out and shot at the Stray, striking its chest and stunning it.

"Resound, thunder!" Akeno proclaimed, firing a larger bolt of lightning that hit the Stray Devil in the back with a massive amount of force.

**"G-GAH!"** The Stray screeched in pain as it was sent flying over the alley way's wall, knocking it out of their line of sight.

When it was, Drake twitched in pain as he grabbed his bitten arm, two puncture wounds visible with blood slowly trailing down. "Ah man… that doesn't feel good."

"Etheron, are you okay?" Akeno asked as she went to him, grabbing his arm to inspect it.

"Um… y-yeah I think." He winced. "I think it had a bit of poison, my whole arm feels numb from the bite."

"Hmmm, you should be fine for the moment." Akeno spoke after checking his arm. "I'll take you to get treated, but before that…" She then surprised Drake and placed her finger on his forehead, a yellow light coming from it as she focused her magic. "I need you to go to sleep."

Drake remained staring at Akeno in confusion for a few seconds before his eyes went half lidded, him appearing almost insulted. "Senpai, that isn't going to work. I'm not exactly a novice to the aspects of the supernatural." The reveal surprised Akeno, although given the fact he was a magic user it shouldn't have come to a surprise that he was mostly immune to her memory erase magic.

She however relented and lowered her finger, moving to properly help Drake as he appeared to flinch in pain more. "Very well, I'll bring you to Buchou. We'll be able to cure you from the Stray Devil's venom. Think you can remain conscious until then."

"Sure thing senpai." Drake said as the two began to make their way to Kuoh Academy, a single thought returning to his head as he walked.

_'Granny's going to rip me in two.'_

* * *

**"Damn… mage…"** The Stray growled in pain as it reached a manhole cover, dropping into the sewers, scorch marks across its back from Akeno's lightning. **"That damn mage… ruined everything. I'll get you… I'll rip your flesh apart for causing me to get injured so severely."**

* * *

**(A/N): Well, well, another DxD story, and this one much different than Inventor. Yeah I don't have an excuse on this one, it's a redux of my original DxD story, one that I've held close to despite having not written it in over a year. That's something I had been waiting to change, and amidst my writer's block for all my other stories this one comes to the rescue. Now I'm a little rusty on the Fairy Tail work in regards to magic, but I'm a quick learner and will get into the groove of it.**

**I hope this first chapter was entertaining, and I hope you all enjoyed it. Peace!**


	2. Introductions

Shortly after the brief encounter with the Stray Devil, Drake had managed to remain conscious long enough to make it to the ORC clubroom. From there, he was treated for his bite wounds after Akeno and Rias used their magic to pull out a portion of the venom.

"Drink this, it will cure the rest of the venom in you that we couldn't get out." Rias said, handing the boy a small vial filled with a green liquid. Rias Gremory was a third year like Akeno, and without question the most popular person in all of Kuoh Academy. From her stunning crimson red hair, her greenish-blue eyes, and her fair skin all served to further her beauty without even mentioning her curves.

"Oh um… thanks…" Drake initially gagged as he looked at the vial, hating the taste of medicine of any kind with a passion. But considering his situation, he didn't have much more of a choice than to chug the substance down. The taste caused his throat to burn, pushing him to cough after swallowing it. "Oh that is disgusting! What's in that!?"

"Lamia scales, wyvern fangs and grounded sprite coal." The redhead answered, smiling as she saw him shiver in response.

"Sorry I asked." He groaned as he placed a hand over his mouth. "Would it be bad if I puked it back out now and just let the venom kill me? It'd be better than knowing I just drank that kind of crap."

"…Don't even think about." A third girl spoke as she stared at Drake without an expression. The girl was Koneko Toujou, a first year student at Kuoh and widely considered the "Mascot" of the academy. She had pure white hair and bright hazel eyes, with two cat clips in her hair. Unlike the other two girls present, Koneko appeared very young and underdeveloped, almost appearing around the age of a first year middle schooler.

"If you drank that you'd understand." Drake said as he gagged a bit on the vial's aftertaste. "I can't believe I drank liquid scales, that can't be good for me."

"It's purging the venom in your body, there couldn't be anything better for you at the moment." Kiba responded, the boy having appeared a minute after Akeno came in with Drake. He was currently wrapping the last bandages around Drake's injured arm, hiding the holes left by the Stray Devil's bite. "There we go, that should do it."

"Thanks." Drake nodded as Kiba got up, stepping away from the couch the two were on and joining Rias and Akeno, the three standing over him while Koneko sat on the couch across the table from him. "I uh… guess you have a few questions for me?"

"There are more than a few that come to mind." Rias stated, an air of authority surrounding her as she stared down at him. The first should be simple, who and what are you?"

"That's two questions, and little mean." Drake muttered before sighing. "Well there isn't too much special about me. My name is Drake Naga Etheron; I'm sixteen and work at Granny Porlyusica's orphanage. As for what, I'm just a human that grew up in Granny's orphanage."

"Just a human doesn't explain how you used a Lost Magic such as Dragon Slayer Magic." Rias countered. "You also clearly have experience with using it and even interacting with Devils to detect a Stray Devil. Not something someone from an orphanage can do."

"Maybe the orphanages you know, but Granny's is a little different." Drake noted. "Back in the day she was a top notch healer, and her control over her magic keeps her health even in her current age. I learned a lot on magic from her."

"She taught you?"

"At first, no." He chuckled. "I grew up in Granny's orphanage, I knew most of her routine after three years of staying there. Once a week she always would seclude herself in the back room, telling me and the others not to bother her. I wanted to see what was so special about it, and I discovered all of her notes and totems of magic. I kept it a secret and was teaching myself for about a month before I summoned a small flame and nearly burned the building down."

_'Only a single month to figure out magic?'_ Rias thought, impressed by how quickly the boy caught on the concept. Humans, much like most living creatures, have magic in them. However since they are born without knowledge of it, it often takes them roughly a year of study and training to summon a successful spell.

"After that, she gave me a real earful over the dangers I had risked in learning magic without her knowing. And since I was clearly not gonna stop, she figured teaching me was the best thing to do. And now I know everything I do."

"A healer taught you how to use Dragon Slayer Magic?" Akeno questioned.

"What, no that's just what sort of happened to me." Drake revealed, tapping the side of his head with his knuckles. "Granny said it was because of something called a Blessed Cog or some weird junk like that."

"Sacred Gear." Rias corrected.

"That's it." Drake snapped his fingers, pointing to the redhead. "Apparently there's a few of those that have Dragon Slayer Magic packed into them, either in weapons or physical changes in the person's appearance."

"Which one of those are you?"

"Granny said I'm not supposed to show anyone." Drake stated. "She says it'll bring the wrong kind of attention if my powers get out."

"You don't have to worry Drake." Kiba said, giving a comforting smile as he did. "I can promise that we won't let anything be known. But we need to be aware of what your powers are in order to assess what we're dealing with."

Drake looked over to Kiba for a few seconds, weighing his options before relenting. "Okay, I guess I can show you guys if you promise to keep it a secret." He then reached down to his right arm, placing a finger on the wrapping he had set there. A black aura then formed around his finger, spreading into the bandages and causing them to loosen and fall off.

When he raised his arm, it revealed there was a set of black tattoos that formed into a random symbol at the center. The markings had a faint purple glow to them, releasing a subtle magic that felt like a pulse going through the air. "Granny didn't tell me what the Sacred Gear is, but this is what formed on me after it activated."

"Koneko?" Rias asked, looking back to the girl as she suddenly had a massive book out.

"…Nothing." She answered after looking through it, seeing nothing that matched with the tattoos.

"Granny said Devils wouldn't have records on it, something about your barbaric nature had rather kill the hosts with it rather than understand it."

"She has a rather negative look on Devils, doesn't she?"

"She feels like that to everyone." Drake shrugged. "Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels, hell she doesn't even like humans that much. All of the races in general upset her over the constant wars and pain everyone causes."

"But what is she then?" Drake shrugged in response, surprising them as he couldn't answer it. "She hasn't even told you?"

"I think she's a Dragon, or she used to be maybe?" He scratched his head. "She doesn't like to talk about herself a lot, and the only evidence I have is her old cloak and her eyes." When the group looked at him, he went into more detail. "The collar of her cloak looks like a Dragon's claw while the fabric looks like scales, and her pupils are slit. You know, like a reptile's?"

"Rias, this Porlyusica might be a former high ranking Dragon." Akeno whispered to Rias, getting a nod from her.

"Can you tell us how you knew we were Devils?" Rias questioned, looking back to Drake to continue the conversation.

The boy crossed his arms in response, looking up to try and figure the best way to explain it. "Well, I guess it's how you smell."

"How we smell?"

"Yeah, at a distance I couldn't tell. But now that you're all this close I can definitely tell by your scents." He then tapped his nose, grinning as he did. "Since I'm a Dragon Slayer, my body changed and my senses became a lot stronger. I can see, hear, and smell better than any of the other races excluding Dragons themselves."

"That's how you saw Akeno in the dark?"

"I don't have night vision, so I couldn't confirm who she was. I could just see the uniform and recognize her scent a bit. I thought it was the school's scent that I was picking up, but now I think I was smelling her lightning."

"I didn't know magic had a scent that could be picked up."

"Akeno's smells like lemon and a crow feather." Drake said, detailing the closest he could to what the smells were like. "Kiba smells like all kinds of stuff, but I pick up the trace of metal the most. Koneko-chan kinda smells like a cat and grass though, kinda weird considering how there's also something familiar to-gah!" Drake was then hit in the head by the closed book Koneko held, knocking him over the back of the couch and onto the floor.

"What was that for!?" Drake shouted as he pocked his head over the couch, nursing a bump on his head from the book hitting him.

"…I don't like perverts smelling me." The quite girl simply stated.

"Cruel!"

"What about me?" Rias asked, attempting to avoid the argument. "Can you tell what my magic smells like?"

Drake raised an eyebrow at the clear evasion, but took it as a chance to avoid getting into trouble and sniffed the air. "You smell like pure demonic nature." He revealed, appearing more confused himself on it. "I don't mean like a demon or Devil's nature either, almost like… like pure destructive magic."

"You can smell that?" Kiba wondered, not expecting raw power having an identifiable scent.

"You know how certain smells and tastes can make you feel something?" Drake questioned back, getting a nod from him. "It's kind of like that. I can't put down exactly what the smell is but the feeling gives me an idea of what it's like."

"Interesting… you can pick up details on someone just by scent alone." Rias noted as she seemed to measure him out. "Do you know if your Sacred Gear does anything else besides give you Fire Dragon Slayer Magic and heightened senses?"

"Nothing, Granny doesn't let me train much with it." Drake admitted. "It took forever just to get her permission to try out my fire, I couldn't even think of convincing her to let me develop it more."

"Why won't she?"

"I live in an orphanage, you know, a bunch of homeless kids? Granny says if I start developing my power I'll attract all sorts of danger; and that in doing so I'll put all of them at risk." He said, looking down in disappointment as he did. "I want to get stronger, but I don't want any of them to get hurt. I have to hold back on my training until I finish high school. After that, I can leave Granny's orphanage and start using my magic more."

"What if I could offer you an alternative?" Rias spoke, getting Drake to look back up to her. "I understand you know about Devils, but are you aware of our current affairs?" Drake shook his head in response, signaling her to continue. "Well to put it short, our people have suffered a blow to our population in the past centuries. After the Great War, we had a civil war that left us divided and struggling to keep our population up."

She then reached into her skirt's pocket and pulled out a chess piece, one that Drake recognized as a pawn. "To counter the issue, we created these items known as Evil Pieces that reincarnate any being into a Devil, adding them to what we call a Peerage. They have special properties that can boost your powers based on the piece used."

"Okay… where do I fit in this?" Drake asked.

"I would like to offer you the opportunity to join my Peerage." She stated, surprising Drake. "To be truthful, we've been detecting several dormant powers among the students for a little over a month now. You were among the priorities, as we were unaware of what held within you."

_'So it was her that I felt watching me.'_ The boy thought, remembering the traces of red hair he saw in the window that morning.

"If you join us, we can help you with discovering and developing your Sacred Gear. And will be protected under my family name." Rias continued, confusing Drake at the last part.

"Buchou is a High Class Devil, her family is known as one of the Three Pillars." Akeno explained. "They are very influential, and with her over watching the actions within Kuoh there won't be many people that are willing to take the risk of breaking the ceasefire. We can even provide protection to the orphanage should anything happen."

Drake was hesitant at the offer, looking down as he seemed to be thinking over everything. The offer was a good one; he understood Devil society enough that they had enough power to back up a bark with a bite. And it would even give him the chance to discover what he was really capable of. There weren't many negatives, except maybe for the fact that he was aware of Reincarnated Devils were looked down like filth by most of the Pureblood Devils.

"If your concerned about how you'll be treated, I can promise you that I won't let you be looked down by my peers." Rias stated, seeing Drake's hesitation. "My servants are my family, and any offences taken against them is an offence against me. Your life will be similar to before you became a Devil, there will just be a few extra responsibilities you'd have."

"It's a good deal Drake." Kiba said, smiling and holding his hand out to him as an offer. "I know it's a lot to take in, but now you have the chance to take your life into your own hands. If you join us, you can even achieve your dream one day." That last bit caused Drake's eyes to widen in shock, his right arm almost trembling as he was about to lift it.

_'It… it's actually in reach.'_ He thought. _'I actually have the chance right before me; I could get stronger and even track after it. All I have to do is… is go back on Granny and…'_

As his thoughts went to the pink haired old lady, he grabbed his markings as he felt them begin to heat up, taking a second to calm himself. "Thank you for the offer… it means a lot that you'd extend something like that. But… I'm going to have to decline." The refusal caught most of the Peerage off guard, the only one not reacting being Koneko as they watched him begin to wrap his markings back up again.

"Are… are you sure Drake?" Kiba asked. "You might not have this chance again. Porlyusica won't give you the chance to even practice using your power, how do you plan on fighting a Dragon and achieving your dream."

"I want to reach my goal, but I won't betray Granny's trust to get there." Drake said, placing a magic seal on the bandaging and causing his markings magic to weaken. "I've waited for the opportunity for twelve years, what's another two to me?" Once he was finished hiding his markings, he looked back to Rias, who had returned to a focused stare. "So have I answered enough to satisfy you senpai? I have to get more groceries now and I'm sure Granny's going to be tearing the town apart if I'm any more late."

Rias nodded in response, sighing as she did. "I can tell you aren't going to do anything to harm my servants. And now that I'm aware that you possess a Sacred Gear I'm able to put one issue to rest."

"Thank you, sorry to waste your time." Drake bowed, turning to walk out of the room.

"Should you ever wish to change your mind, the offer remains open." Rias said, getting him to pause at the door.

"Thanks, but I wouldn't hold my breath." Drake muttered, walking out and closing the door behind him.

"…You didn't push him about his Sacred Gear." Koneko stated, looking to her president.

"If he doesn't want us to know it, than we can hope that he won't unleash it by mistake." Rias responded, reaching down and picking the catalog of Sacred Gear up from the ground and looking at the cover. "He has a decent grasp on magic, he should be able to avoid the same mistakes as his predecessors."

"We will keep an eye on him though, so it's best to try and understand him more in the coming days." She'd continue, walking back to her desk and placing the book down. "But that can wait for another day. For now, we need to get back to our contracts, we'll fall behind if we don't hurry."

"Yes Buchou." The three Devils responded, following their master's orders.

* * *

"Hey Granny, I'm back." Drake sighed as he unlocked the door and walked in. He had a new set of groceries with him, which he placed down on the counter top after he kicked the door closed behind him.

"You were out late." Porlyusica responded, looking up from the couch where she remained for the entire time he was away. She had a measuring gaze, signaling to Drake that she was aware that something happened.

"Had to make a small detour, there was a problem."

"A problem that required you using your magic in front of a Devil?"

"Not necessarily required, but I didn't feel like I could leave without doing something." He admitted, placing the groceries away while Porlyusica got up and started to walk to him.

"You were recently healed with Devil magic and an elixir of their formula."

"There was a Stray Devil, it had poison and bit me." He said as he held his left arm up, showing the bandages the Devils wrapped around him. "They drew out most of it and gave me a drink to get rid of the rest."

"Venom, and that's not the worst of what you've done." Porlyusica stated as she reached him, giving him a disappointed glare as he finished putting everything away. "You took your wrappings off and revealed your markings, to the very same Devils I told you not to."

"They were investigating me, I couldn't just hide it." Drake said, trying to avoid looking at the woman as he did. "But they do think it's my Sacred Gear, so that should throw them off a bit."

"You stupid brat!" Porlyusica yelled as she pulled on Drake's cheek. "The problem is they now know that you have one! They're going to keep pursuing you now, and then they'll learn that you lied to them about your Sacred Gear! If you aren't careful they're going to drag you right into their world and pile every problem on you!"

"That won't happen you old hag!" Drake yelled back, trying to pull away from her grip.

"Devils are manipulative and conniving, they will trick you into joining them! That's what they do, that's what every race does! The Gremory child will no doubt wait until you have no other options before forcing you into her Peerage!"

"She already asked!" Drake shouted, the reveal surprising Porlyusica enough to release him.

"She did what?"

"Rias already asked me to join her Peerage." Drake winced, rubbing the pain away on his cheek. "After I told her about my Sacred Gear and what I knew on the supernatural, she asked me if I wanted to join her. She said she'd offer protection here and to help me get stronger. They even said I'd be able to achieve my dream sooner if I did."

"And you… turned that down…" Porlyusica looked genuinely surprised at the news, not even needing to ask if he had. Her nose was as sensitive as his, if he was a Reincarnated Devil she would have smelled it on him.

"It wasn't easy, I can promise you that." He chuckled, trying to ease the tension in the room. "I was pretty close to accepting it, but I couldn't do that to everyone." He then sighed, looking up to the second floor where everyone was sleeping. "If I became a Devil now, that could put all of them at risk. I want to hunt a dragon, but not if I hurt everyone else along the way."

"You said that you intended for all of us see each other as family, and I still hold on to that sentiment." Drake smiled as he walked past Porlyusica, the woman having recovered from her shock and watched as he walked to the stairs. "I've lived here for twelve years, and you've been my parent for the whole time. I would never just turn my back on everything you've done for me."

"I can never figure out what goes on in that head of yours brat." Porlyusica sighed before smiling.

"I'll be sure to wake up early enough to make breakfast, you can sleep in if you want to." Drake said, going up the stairs. Just before he was out of sight, Drake flashed a grin at her, instantly setting off her "brat" signal. "At your age, you need all the beauty sleep you can get."

"BRAT!" Drake then moved with a purpose as Porlyusica threw an ungodly amount of objects at him, her anger bursting right away at his shot at her age.

* * *

"So Issei is dating someone?" Sasha asked as Drake was fixing her hair, the two sitting on one of the couches as the other kids were all still eating breakfast.

"Yep, and he said he'd swing by to introduce her." Drake responded as he put the finishing touches, having tied her hair into pigtails this time. He was wearing a long sleeved white shirt and black sweatpants, keeping his attire simple for the day.

"So while they're here, I expect you to be on your best behavior." He then looked over the couch to a table with several boys and girls, all with some food on them. "Tatsumi, I'm looking at you."

"Aw come on, you always go to me!" The boy complained, getting a chuckle from Drake as he rested back.

"That's because I know it'll be you."

"Oh yeah, well can you know this will happen!?" Drake then quickly got up and caught a ball of food, magically sewn together with thin blue threads.

"Tatsumi! You know Granny's rule about using magic in the building!" He shouted, using his fire to burn the food away.

"Granny's not awake." The kid grinned. "Which means there's no one to keep the rules in check."

"I'll do it ya punk." Drake said as he cracked his knuckles. "And don't think I forgot what you did to my favorite pair of jeans last week. This'll be payback."

The kid's lip went thin as he remembered the prank he pulled on the Dragon Slayer, instantly retreating by jumping over the table. "Grand escape!" He announced as he threw his hands up, firing several thin threads and connecting them to the high beams and pulling himself up.

"You aren't escaping that easily!" Drake shouted as he jumped over the couch, getting everyone's attention as he ran up the stairs. Once he was to the top, Drake quickly leaped onto the railing and lunged up, reaching high enough to grab the support and pull himself up to the same level as Tatsumi.

The boy quickly tried to back up, but felt his back touch the wall. "You do this every time Tatsumi, and every time you back yourself into the same wall." Drake commented as he slowly walked towards him, a grin on his face. "I'm not like Granny where you can run up here and hide for ten minutes before she gets tired of you dodging, I'll drag you down with my bare hands."

"You're right, I always go here." Tatsumi admitted, confusing Drake as he smirked. "Which is why I've always made sure to set up a few traps." He then flicked his fingers and Drake's eyes widened in realization as he felt Tatsumi's threads wrap around his ankles. "Going down Drake."

"You little sh-!" He was then dragged off the supports and fell nearly to the floor, hanging a few inches off the ground. "Tatsumi you squirt, put me down right now!"

"In a second, Hami wanted to show you something." Drake looked forward to see the mentioned brown haired girl approach, her hands glowing as a multicolor liquid came out from her palms.

"Hami… don't. You. Dare." He said simply, getting a smirk in response. "Ah crap."

* * *

"Are you sure it's okay to visit him so early?" Yuuma asked as she walked next to Issei, the two approaching the orphanage. Yuuma was the before mentioned girl Issei mentioned to Drake and current girlfriend. She wore a casual white and black outfit, the colors going well with her long black hair and violet eyes.

"It's okay, I talked with him yesterday about it." Issei reassured. "I'm sorry if I dragged you out for this though, I just really wanted to introduce you two."

"Oh, I don't mind!" Yuuma responded, not wanting Issei to think like that. "I was just concerned that he would be too busy to spare any time."

"Nah, he's usually always free. Drake just helps out with the meals is all, Ms. Porlyusica is the one who watches the kids most of the time." Issei responded, the two reaching the door before he knocked on it.

_"Oh crap, they're here!"_ The faint sound of Drake shouting as the sound of struggling was heard. _"Tatsumi, come down and drop me! Hami put that away! Everyone else, go back to eating!"_ A loud thump was then heard, followed by a pained groan from Drake. _"I asked for that…"_

Issei and Yuuma both tilted their heads in confusion, waiting for Drake as they heard him walk up. When they opened the door however, both stared wide-eyed at him as he was covered head to toe with what appeared to be paint.

"Ise, you're here a little early." Drake instantly looked to Issei, seemingly not noticing Yuuma at first as her shock remained.

"Sorry, I didn't know exactly when you wanted me to come." Issei apologized, rubbing the back of his head as he looked at Drake's complete mess of an appearance. "Did… did something happen?"

"Oh, nothing bad." Drake responded, waving his hand nonchalantly. "I was taking a nap after making everyone's food when Hami decided to dump a bunch of paint on me as a prank."

"Oh, that makes a bit more sense." Issei said, understanding what he meant. He wasn't a resident of the orphanage, but he's hung around long enough to know the antics some of the younger kids that were residents. Hami and Tatsumi being the regular culprits for the pranks that happened.

"So, am I going to meet this mystery girlfriend or we just going to stand here?"

"Oh, sorry." Issei spoke before motioning over to Yuuma. "Drake, this is Yuuma Amano. We met yesterday and she asked me to be her boyfriend."

"If she asked you, she must have weird taste." Drake chuckled as he turned to Yuuma. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my name's Drake Etheron-ack!" Drake was once again brought to shock as he saw Yuuma's appearance; his jaw dropping as he instantly recognized her.

"Drake? You okay dude?" Issei asked, waving his hand in front of Drake. He however grinned shortly after, a sudden thought coming up. "Oh I get it, you're surprised to see that Yuuma was a super ho… pretty girl." He corrected himself, getting the impression as he crossed his arms in pride. "I told you someone actually wanted to be my girlfriend, must be quite the shock I got one before you huh?"

Drake eventually brought his hand to his jaw and closed it, slapping himself to snap out of his stare as Yuuma collected herself. "Um, yeah that's it… complete shock someone started dating you." He then wiped his hand on his ruined shirt, cleaning it before holding it out to Yuuma. "Hi Yuuma, it's a pleasure to… finally meet you."

"No the pleasure… is all mine." Yuuma responded cautiously, slowly reaching out before shaking his hand.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Issei asked, noticing the awkward air surrounding them.

"Yeah, everything's fine Ise. Just… first meeting jitters." Drake would say, giving a pointed look to Yuuma as he did. "Right "Yuuma"?"

"Of course… Drake. It's nothing to worry about Issei, I promise."

"That's good." Issei sighed, glad there was nothing apparently wrong. He was excited to have a girlfriend finally, but he didn't want there to be a problem between her and Drake.

"Please, come in." Drake said as he opened the door fully for them. "I'm going to change and wash all this paint off. I'll be back in a few minutes and we can talk."

* * *

After the two came in, Drake was quick to clean up, washing the magic paint Hami coated him with and put on a new pair of clothes, a long sleeve dark blue shirt and a pair of jeans. When he had come back down so that Issei could properly "introduce" them, the two were sharing measuring glances that were unnoticed by the boy.

When the simple introduction was done with, Drake held a finger up to get their attention. "Excuse me Ise, but there's something I'd like to discuss with Yuuma. Would you mind if we walked over to the kitchen while you…" Drake was trying to think of an excuse when he saw Sasha working on her homework. "Help Sasha with her math!? She's been struggling for a bit and could use an outside tutor aside from me and Granny."

"Huh?" Sasha hummed back, confused at the notion when she was almost a grade level ahead of the homework she was given.

"I'm calling in a hair tying favor, go with it." He whispered, making sure Issei didn't hear.

"Oooohhhh… okay." Sasha winked before looking over to Issei. "Yeah, could you help me? Granny's still asleep and Drake sucks at math."

"Gah!" Drake looked genuinely betrayed, his jaw dropping at the girl's excuse.

"Oh, um sure? I guess." Issei said, off put by the request. "Don't take too long though, I was planning on us maybe going to the park and it gets really busy in an hour."

"Don't worry Ise, we won't be long." Drake responded, shaking off his betrayal and getting up. "Yuuma, if you would please."

"Of course." Yuuma nodded, the two walking over to the kitchen. While there wasn't any doors or walls to block out any sound, Drake quietly tapped on the countertop, creating a thin invisible magic barrier that could.

"What are you doing Raynare?" Drake asked as he looked to the girl, appearing both concerned and nervous as he did.

"That's none of your business Drake." She responded, sounding hostile as she did.

"You're dating my best friend, I'd say whatever you're doing IS my business." He countered. "What are you even doing in Kuoh? You were adopted ten years ago and I know the Fallen Angels wouldn't order you to come back here unless it wasn't important."

"Then you already know that I can't tell you anything." Raynare said, crossing her arms under her bust as she did. "I'm here under orders, that's all I can say to you. So if you're trying to get anything else, you can save your breath."

"Raynare please, I need to know." Drake pleaded. "We grew up together for two years, we shared a room here. There has to be something you can tell me?"

Raynare turned her head away in response, appearing annoyed at the attempt at using her past. She did look at him with a side-glance, seeing that he was staring at her pleadingly, getting an annoyed grunt from her. "…You don't have to worry, I wasn't sent here to harm Hyoudou."

That instantly brought relief to Drake, as he let out a sigh he was holding in. "That's good at least." He then looked to her appearing confused as he did. "So if you're not here to ice Ise or anything, than why did you start dating him? No offense to the guy but the mega-pervert isn't your type last time I checked."

"Believe me, it still isn't." She winced with a sneer as she looked to the wall. "You can't imagine how difficult it is to try and keep up an appearance while trying to ignore the tendencies he has."

"I never took you for the shy type, considering you're a Fallen Angels and everything." Drake said, raising an eyebrow at the comment. "I thought all of you liked being ogled at by guys."

"It's not because of that you dense idiot!" Raynare shouted. "It's annoying how badly he hides it and tries to act like nothing happened! I have only been around him for less than three hours and I have almost dropped my cover to smack him twice!"

"Then why date him, when that'd likely lead to that more as the relationship goes on?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot Drake?" Raynare asked in return. "I already told you what I could, you're going to have to settle with it." As Raynare was about to walk away, Drake grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving. "What?"

"You don't have to act like you hate me, we're friends aren't we?" Drake questioned, slightly off put by how hostile Raynare had been.

"Friends? We grew up in an orphanage together ten years ago. We were just staying here together, there wasn't anything more to it." She stated coldly, surprising Drake before pulling her arm free. "Whatever you think there was wasn't there, so don't even bother trying to appeal to me."

As she walked towards the barrier, Drake was staring at Raynare with shock and pain. Her cold words pierced Drake deep and made him look down, his hands trembling as he closed his eyes in sorrow. Just hearing those words shook him to his core, having always thought of Raynare as a friend from the memories he shared with her.

"And don't touch me again, I'll run you through with a Light Spear if you do." Her last words before she stepped through the barrier were the final slap in his face, leaving Drake to remain silent as the barrier disappeared and Raynare returned to her Yuuma persona. "Issei! We're done talking!"

"Oh, that's good!" Issei grinned, getting up from beside Sasha and walking over. "So we good to go then?"

"Yeah…" Drake said quietly, wiping his arm across his eyes before putting on a bright smile, his sorrow gone almost instantly. "Let's head out!"

* * *

**(A/N): Yeah, chapter 2's done! Took a bit of focus from me at the beginning, but I've managed to get by it. A little bit of a slow chapter, but I think it'll be a good walk in as I plan on getting some excitement in next chapter. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Peace!**


	3. Runaway

"Wow, someone looks like he was dragged through the dirt." Dante commented as he stepped onto the roof of Kuoh Academy, staring at Drake as he laid down with his feet over the edge.

"It's a bit of a long story." Drake responded, looking up to the sky with a blank expression. It had been two days since he confronted Raynare, and ever since that day he hasn't talked or even seen her or Issei.

"Is it about Issei dating that girl Yuuma?' Dante asked, sitting next to Drake while kicking his legs over the side.

"A little, but there's a little bit more going on." Drake admitted, sitting up as he looked out to the town. "I can't go into details, but I know Yuuma from back then. But she seems… different from what I remember."

"She seems pretty upbeat, is that change really that bad?"

"…No, but I can shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen." Drake said, dodging the fact that he was aware of Raynare's true identity. Drake couldn't tell Dante about the supernatural world, or even that Raynare was lying about who she was. Knowing Dante he'd take it the wrong way and do something risky.

"I'm making it sound worse than it is, it just feels weird knowing that Ise is dating someone I knew." Drake continued, trying to avoid the subject while scratching the back of his head. "In all honesty there's something a little more pressing that's getting me thinking."

"What is it?"

"Apparently a few of the kids are getting adopted, but Granny wouldn't tell us who." Drake explained. "We had an Open House yesterday, and a surprising amount of people came to see the kids. There was more there than the total we've seen in the last two years."

"Any looking at you?"

"Come on man, let's try and keep it in reality here." Drake chuckled. "But in all seriousness none of them saw me as one of the orphans. They probably thought I was a volunteer or Granny's grandson, something like that."

"Well their miss." Dante said as he punched Drake's shoulder. "I swear, the only adults that seem to appreciate you are the Hyoudous, since you sometimes get Ise out of his issues."

"The ones I don't cause?"

"Usually."

The two then shared a laugh, looking over the schoolyard as students were either leaving for lunch or simply to spend a free period with friends. It was blissful moment that the two often shared since they shared a free period. Despite the two's reputations for being exuberant and outgoing, they often enjoyed the silence and would just bask in the time they had between classes.

After a few minutes of people watching Drake eventually reached into his bag and pulled out what appeared to be a sketchbook, getting an amused smirk from the golden haired student.

"Feeling inspired again?" He asked as Drake then took a pencil out of his pocket and began to sketch the schoolyard, going for a rough outline rather than any details.

"What can I say, with a lot on my mind getting it out with a few sloppy drawings it can really do the trick." Drake shrugged, smiling as he poorly drew the area below them.

"You, sloppy?" Dante chuckled. "Drake I've seen some of your more polished work, you could make a killing if you went into art more. Hell, I'm surprised you don't even have an art class in your schedule with the sketches I've seen."

"Because I don't dream of becoming a popular artist, I'll settle with just having a fun hobby to enjoy." Drake countered, pointing to Dante with his pencil. "It beats going around and pranking every popular kid in school, looking for that one person that'll snap."

"Hey, you wouldn't complain if I pulled one on Kiryuu or Asha." Dante argued, getting silence from Drake as he looked back to his sketching with a small grin. "I rest my case." The two's ears then both twitched and they turned, seeing two members of the student council approach.

Souna Shitori and Tsubaki Shinra, the Student Council President and Vice President respectively. Both were extremely up kept, appearing proper and determined in every regard. Both were also decently known by Dante and Drake, as they've ended up being scolded for their antics more than a few times, the former much more than the latter.

"Dante, would you mind if you came with us?" Souna asked, looking to the golden haired student. "There's something we need to discus with you, preferably in private."

"Am I in trouble again? Cause I swear the paint bomb in the Newspaper Club's room doesn't go off for another ten minutes." Dante responded, grinning sheepishly when he let the last part slip. "I mean… what paint bomb?"

"We simply wish to talk to you, call the Newspaper Club and warn them of the device Dante planted in their clubroom." Souna stated, looking to Tsubaki who nodded and walked off ahead of time. "So then, will you come Dante?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll hear what you have to say." Dante waved as he got up, dusting his pant legs off before saluting to Drake. "Sorry to cut our time short, but I guess something important 's going on. That or I'm busted for a couple other things."

"What other things?" At the moment of Drake's question, the sound of the sprinklers went off, followed by a few dozen screams from students who were relaxing on the grass. "…Never mind."

"Sorry to inconvenience you Etheron." Souna apologized, surprising the boy as she and Dante walked off. When they were out of earshot of him, Souna instantly sighed and shook her head. "Why are you interacting so much with him?"

"Why not? He's a fun guy and actually appreciates my sense of humor." Dante answered, chuckling as he crossed his arms behind his head. "It's almost a shame I don't prefer being a girl, he'd be quite the catch."

"Don't forget who we believe is watching over him, or what he has within him." Souna argued, getting a playful wave from the boy.

"Oh please, Ol' Gran loves me! There's no way she'd have a problem with me chatting with her orphan boy."

"And the likelihood of his Sacred Gear being what we think it is?"

"Oh no, you and Rias are right on the money, don't get me wrong." Dante responded. "But just because he has "Him" somewhere in there doesn't mean he's going to end up the same."

"And should he actually reach that point?"

"We're fucked, plain and simple."

"Never thought you'd be the kind to drop a negative so quickly."

"I knew him when he was alive Sona." Dante said, dropping the student's true name. "It wouldn't end well, but that's why I know Drake won't be like that. He doesn't have the heart to do something remotely close to that."

Sona would sigh in response, her composure dropping as she did. "I hope that you're right. Because if he does…"

"Hey." Dante spoke softly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You know I wouldn't invite that kind of danger to you. I'm your Guardian, you know I take that much seriously."

"I do." Sona eventually nodded, relenting to his argument. "I will trust your judgment on this. If you can convince Drake to either work with us or join us then Rias and I won't stop you."

"Oh no, I'm not doing that." Dante smirked. "It wouldn't mean anything if any of us tried to convince him. He has to come to the conclusion of whether he wants to join us or not himself. Our interactions have to be limited as friends for now, otherwise we only risk pushing him further away."

"If you believe that to be the case, Lord Dante."

"Ugh, I hate it when you call me that. Makes me feel like an old man."

"You are."

"Don't remind me!"

* * *

"Man, I just can't believe we were backstabbed like that!" Matsuda stated as Drake walked next to him and Motohama. "You really think you know a guy until he does you dirty like that!"

"We can never forgive such blatant betrayal!" Motohama agreed. "We have to find a way to get back at him for this! How dare he leave us in the single club like it wasn't even a question!?"

"I know, we'll come up with a few rumors about him, that'll teach him for abandoning us! Right Drake!?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, sure, sure whatever you guys said." Drake nodded, appearing absent minded as he looked up to the sky.

"Man, what's gotten into you?" Matsuda asked. "You've been really out of it since Ise showed us that Yuuma chick. You're not actually that bothered by her are you? We're doing this for the fun of it, but you look honestly bummed."

"Does everyone think that's always the reason?" He responded, getting a simultaneous nod from them. "Jerks… but no that isn't it. I'm just thinking about how some of the kids at the orphanage are being adopted. What Ise does in his free time is his own decision, I don't have a say in it." Drake finished the sentence with a distant voice as he looked away, getting the two to know there was more than what he had said. However, they knew that it would be best to let him vent in his own time.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot you told us about that." Motohama stated, shifting his glasses as he looked to the Dragon Slayer. "Are they going to be adopted early in the day or later?"

"They won't be leaving until tomorrow, but the parents will be coming in two hours to visit for the night. I think by now the kids who're getting adopted know and are packing up so they're ready when they show up."

"Man, that must suck." Matsuda sighed. "You think they're gonna be okay?"

"All of the adults that came to the last open house were really nice, I didn't smell anything bad on them." Drake answered, tapping his nose in emphasis. Within their group of friends, everyone knew that Drake had heightened senses. However he hadn't told any of them the reason behind it, so his identity as a Dragon Slayer remained a secret.

"That's at least good." Motohama nodded.

"Any idea who it might be?"

"Not a clue, most of the kids have been around for the average time one stays. But we have a few rare ones where some are adopted earlier, so it's pretty much up in the air at this point."

"Do you mind if we stop by and see who it is?" Matsuda asked, getting a confused look from Drake. "I mean, we've gotten to know a few of the squirts. It'd be wrong to not at least say bye to them."

"You sure? I'm not sure if Granny would let you stay for long."

"It's fine, as long as we at least get to say goodbye one last time right?" Motohama spoke, the two perverts flashing genuine grins.

"Some of them are pretty cool, it'd be a bust to let them go without seeing them again."

Drake was slightly surprised at the two's reasoning, having not expected them to honestly think that much over the kids. They were right, they've gotten to know the kids to an extent when they and Issei would visit occasionally.

"Sure guys, that sounds great." Drake smiled back, getting chuckles from the two as they moved to wrap an arm over his shoulders each, surrounding him.

"Plus we know a softie like you will need help getting through it, so we'll at least start you off!" Matsuda grinned, Drake flinching as he realized he walked into the trap.

"I'm not a softie!"

"You totally are dude!"

"Name one thing that could possible say that!"

"You draw all the time man! It's totally a softie activity!"

"I can bench press both of you! No way I'm a softie!"

"Someone's in denial!"

"It ain't denial!"

The three's shouting turned to laughter as they messed around, managing to keep the mood up despite the likely sad goodbye to be followed. It was moments like these that cemented the three were friends, even with their limit in similar interests and their unique quirks.

"This is bullshit!" That joy was cut off when Drake opened the door, the sound of Tatsumi shouting cutting through and shocking them at his tone. Most of the kids were around the building, their attention being drawn to Tatsumi as he stood a few feet from Porlyusica.

"Tatsumi, you should know better than to swear like that." Porlyusica said as she remained calm, trying to reason with him. "This is a good thing for you, this is exactly why you've been kept here. To find a new family."

"But this is our family!" Tatsumi argued, glaring at the old woman with a mix of anger and betrayal. "We've been here for five years, Hami and I don't know anything else on family than what we have here! And Sasha doesn't want to leave any more than we do!"

"Oh this isn't good…" Drake muttered as he stepped ahead of Matsuda and Motohama, the two feeling awkward now with the given drama.

"This isn't something up for debate Tatsumi." Porlyusica stated. "I realize it is a lot to take in, but this for your own good. This is a chance to have your own life, to think we've betrayed you over having you being adopted is immature of you."

"Well I don't see you saying you want us to stay here! Just admit it, you've always been annoyed by us, you want us gone! I bet you haven't even told Drake yet, he'd stand with us on this!"

"Tatsumi, that's enough." Drake spoke as he stepped closer to them, surprising the three kids and bringing smiles to their faces.

"Drake!" Sasha and Tatsumi cheered as they and Hami rushed and hugged him, holding onto him as safety. Drake returned the hug, but kept a somber expression as he embraced them.

"Drake you can't let this happen!" Sasha cried as she looked up to him. "We don't want to leave, this place is our home! We want to stay with you and Granny!"

"I know, I know, it's hard to think of a regular life outside of here." Drake said softly, kneeling down to properly hug them. "You've become a big part of this family, and leaving must be harder than anything else. But I promise all of you this is for the best."

"Wh-What?" Sasha asked through tears as they all stepped back, shocked at Drake's words as he remained kneeling, his expression scaring them as he continued.

"This is a special opportunity, being adopted isn't something you can just overlook." He'd say, reaching forward and wiping Hami's tears away, moving to Sasha's after he did. "You don't want to stay here forever, it begins to hurt the more you see the same thing happen."

"B-But you've stayed here for years longer than we have!" Tatsumi shouted, watching as Drake wiped away the tears staining Sasha's cheeks. "And you've always been looking after us, we could do the same when we get older! Help Granny with everything!"

"You're right Tatsumi, I've been here for a long time." Drake nodded, moving the hold his shoulders comfortingly. "But that also means I know what I'm saying when I say that it doesn't make you feel any better missing an opportunity like this. And it only gets harder to get adopted the longer you stay."

"One after the other, you see the people you grow up with slowly leave, until one point you're all alone. Then you have to try and interact with the next kids that come, and see the same thing happen all over again. I don't want to have to say goodbye, but I also don't want you to end up in my shoes. This is a great thing for you three, believe me when I say that."

"How… how can you possible take her side!?" Tatsumi's shout surprised Drake, getting his grip to loosen and allow him to break free.

"Tatsumi, I just told you how much it hurts to not be-"

"You think I'd believe that!? You never once complained about not being adopted, not even once!" Tatsumi continued to shout, pointing at Drake with betrayal. "You're more than happy staying with Granny, you just want to get rid of us! We're too much trouble and you're on board for the first chance to kick us out!"

"Oh course not, how could you think that?" Drake asked, hurt at the accusation.

"Tatsumi I… I don't think he feels that way." Sasha said quietly, surprising him. "Drake's always looked after us when Granny couldn't… he never complained when I asked for his help with my hair. Or when you and Hami would prank him, he always took it with a smile at the end."

Hami nodded, looking at Tatsumi with a sad expression as she did. Not a word was spoken from her, but the emotions being conveyed gave the message all that was needed for the group to tell.

Seeing the two give in so easily pushed Tatsumi back even more, as he stepped back from them with his body shaking. "I can't believe it… you two both are just okay with this? They're basically kicking us out!"

"Because they want us to be happy." Sasha responded. "I want to stay too but… what Drake said… and having parents again, maybe he's right." Hami nodded again, her emotions broadcasted again signaling her agreement.

"Then… then you two clearly don't care like I do!"

"That is enough Tatsumi." Porlyusica warned. "You have been causing more than enough of a scene. You need to calm down before the Shidous come."

"No! I'm not… I won't go with them!" He shouted back, running past her and running up the stairs. He ran for his room and slammed the door shut, causing it to echo from the force.

"That brat…"

"Give him time, he just needs to blow off some steam." Drake spoke up, standing back up. "Remember, Min was just like him when he was getting adopted. I'm sure Tatsumi will feel better once he has the time to think."

"Min didn't have the same fire he does." Porlyusica sighed. "He got too much of that from you brat. You made him too much of a trouble maker."

"Yeah… but that just means I know he'll come around." Drake felt a tug at his shirt and looked down, seeing Hami look up to him with a concerned stare. That brought a smile to Drake as he placed his hand on her head, ruffling her hair. "No, Tatsumi isn't mad at you. He's just being a bit of a jerk right now."

"Is he… going to be okay?" Sasha asked, getting a nod from him.

"It's just as I said, all he needs is a little time. He'll be out and apologizing to you two by the end of the night, I promise."

* * *

"I'm sorry things got really dramatic there." Drake apologized to Matsuda and Motohama, the two standing outside after saying their goodbyes to Sarah and Hami. "I wasn't expecting there to be so much trouble today."

"Hey, it's cool man." Matsuda said.

"Yeah, how were you supposed to know Tatsumi would get all pissy?" Motohama nodded. "Just… say bye to the little guy for us?"

"I'll be sure to." Drake smiled, waving the two off as they walked away. Once they were gone he closed the door, instantly slamming his head against it as he released a deep breath. "This is going to be a long night, isn't it?"

"That depends on how long Tatsumi plans on staying in his room." Porlyusica stated as she walked up behind Drake.

"He doesn't know what he's getting, and unfortunately I can't help him with that."

"But you can help me make dinner." Porlyusica said, changing the subject as she headed for the kitchen. "Now come on, we're going to have four extra mouths to feed and I'd rather not look like a fool on such an important day."

"Sure thing Granny." Drake sighed before slapping his face twice, getting his usual grin back and pumping himself up. "Alright! So what are we going to make for the guests!?"

"Chicken Ragu with bacon and sides of boiled broccoli and spinach." She answered. "And since we need it done quickly and properly, I'm giving you permission to use you magic this once."

"Yes!" Drake cheered, running over to the kitchen with his hands already engulfed in flames. "Now I'm all fired up! Let's show them what a magic cooking duo can do!"

"Burn one thing down in this house and I'll have your head!"

* * *

_'Tatsumi is so dead when this is over…'_ Drake thought nervously as he sat at a table next to Porlyusica, the elder woman fuming as they were long finished eating dinner.

Several hours had gone by and Tatsumi has refused to even speak from his room, leading to the awkward situation laid before them. Them plus Sasha and Hami were all introducing and going through the final steps with the families that had come for them: the Furans and Kazukas.

From scent alone, Drake was able to tell that all four adults were adept with magic to an extent. Both the Furans had too strange of a scent to put on, making it difficult for him to pin down, but they didn't have any sense of malice to them. He was a little cautious over the struggle of understanding their magic, but let it go as Sasha had seemed to be enjoying her time with them, even cracking a few smiles and laughs as they asked her of her interests.

The Kazukas were much easier to read, having separate scents of grass and metal specifically. The magic was likely a combination of earth and metal-based spells, but without seeing them Drake wouldn't be able to put an exact on them. They were here to adopt both Tatsumi and Hami, which initial was thought to make things easier for the two but clearly hasn't worked. As she didn't normally talk, Drake focused more on her expressions, seeing the faint traces of a smile.

The meal would've likely gone perfectly, however the absence of the wire-casting child clearly was leaving a noticeable impact on the event. One no more obvious then the slowly increasing magic pressure from Porlyusica.

"Ahem…" Mr. Kazuka coughed awkwardly, attempting to break the silence that subtly came after everyone was done eating. "So Ms. Porlyusica, I don't mean to sound rude, but may I ask where Tatsumi is? I thought he would be eating dinner with us."

"He was supposed to…" Porlyusica growled as she tightened her fist. "That brat's been throwing a fit for the past few hours, one that he should have gotten over already."

"Is it because of the adoption?" Mrs. Kazuka asked, concerned for the boy. "I'm sorry if it's been a trouble, we thought he would… we didn't mean to cause trouble for him."

"No, you don't have to apologize ma'am." Drake spoke up. "Tatsumi's just being a real jerk right now is all. He's just really stubborn and he's barricaded himself in his room. We've been so focused on dinner we didn't have a chance to try and get him down."

"I'll drag him down if I have to break the entire room to do it." Porlyusica stated as she stood up, getting Drake to respond quickly and stand up quicker.

"Th-there's no need for that Granny." He stuttered, placing two hands on her shoulders to try and calm her. "He's only on the second floor, I can jump up from outside and get in through the window. We don't need you scaring him into submission."

"You have two minutes." Porlyusica said, sitting back down with a huff as she crossed her arms. "If he isn't at the table by then I'm getting the breadsticks."

"Y-You wouldn't…" Getting a deathly stare in return from the woman, Drake instantly took off for the front door and booked it for Tatsumi's room. "YOU ACTUALLY WOULD!"

"Um… breadsticks?" Mr. Furan asked, partially scared to know the answer.

"Back when he was little, he had a problem with listening to what I had to say. And after he discovered he could use magic, it became difficult to rein him in. Eventually I dumbed down the threat to breadsticks and the confusion alone has him scared to even think of what I actually mean."

"I can sense a strong presence from him, his potential must be really high." Mrs. Furan commented, smiling as she looked to the elder woman. "You must be very proud of his progress."

"The brat learns too quickly for his own good."

"Still, to be so young and have such a reservoir of magic power, yet retaining a level of humility shows how well you've risen him."

"Ha! Humility, he doesn't have any. He's just too trusting and compassionate to consider wronging anyone"

"Is that so wrong to have?" Mr. Furan asked.

"When you have a power such as his, it is."

An explosion went off upstairs shortly after, the adults in the room all rising to their feet instantly in a mixture of shock and confusion.

"Granny, we have serious trouble!" Drake shouted as he ran out from Tatsumi's room, having blown the door off the hinges in panic.

"What is so important that you blew up a door for!?" Porlyusica shouted back.

"He's gone!" Drake didn't have to even say his name to get the message across, putting everyone in a similar state of panic.

"What do you mean he's gone!?"

"I mean he isn't in his room and the window was open when I came up!" Drake shouted, turning back to the open window. Just by looking he could tell the boy hadn't brought much with him, possibly a single bag with a change of clothes. Not a single thing else was out of place, meaning he likely booked it recently.

"How could he have gotten out without either of you knowing? I thought you had a barrier to signal you if someone entered or left the building!?" Mr. Kazuka questioned.

"Tatsumi is a protégé, he likely spent the past couple hours dispelling the barrier before leaving." Porlyusica concluded, looking back up to Drake. "Did he leave anything that could point to where he went?"

"Nothing, but we don't need anything to track him!" Drake responded, running for the window. "I'll sniff him out and bring him back!"

"No brat, wait just a second!"

Drake didn't even stop as he dove through the window, firing a quick burst of flames to send him flying further from the orphanage. Having just been in his room, Tatsumi's scent was flooding Drake's senses, making it much easier to find the trail that he would have left behind.

When Drake was beginning to fall back to the ground, he rolled over his shoulder and landed on a single knee. He took a few quick sniffs into the air before turning left, running into town as he picked up Tatsumi's scent.

_'You idiot, what are you thinking?'_ He thought as he ran as fast as he could. _'You don't have a clue what life you're trying to throw away. You can't do this to yourself, I won't let you!'_

* * *

As Drake ran into the heart of town, a shadowy figure emerged from seemingly nowhere, bright red eyes glowing as it watched him from a distance. _**"Soon… you'll pay soon for your hand in my pain…"**_ It hissed, white scales appearing out from the shadows before it disappeared again, trailing after the Dragon Slayer.

"Think they can just toss me out like that." Tatsumi spoke bitterly as he walked down an alley, kicking a can away as he looked down to the ground. "If they wanted me gone so bad, they could've just said it. They only make themselves look worse for lying for the past year."

After roughly an hour of moving through town, trying to throw his scent all over the place. He knew that Drake and Porlyusica had extremely keen noses, but knew that Drake would be the only one that could possibly catch up to him in time. So he had to throw him off, making him travel in the most ridiculous pattern possible with the help of his wires. He had amplified the magic in each thread to carry his scent, sending them in the exact opposite side of Kuoh from where he was in hopes of throwing him off.

"It's just not fair!" He shouted as he kicked a trashcan over, grabbing it with several threads and slamming it hard into the ground. He then threw it across the alley and sat back against a wall, curling himself up as he began to cry. "I thought we were supposed to be a family… why would they just give me up like that? I thought they… I thought they were different."

Tatsumi then reached into the bag on his back, pulling out a picture and cradling it gently with both hands. On it were him and Hami, both only eight with two adults and a teenage girl that all had striking resemblances to the children. Simply seeing the three caused Tatsumi's tears to run down his face, dripping on the photo as his hands lightly shook.

"Why does everyone always… why do they have to be mean and lie?" He asked himself as he used his sleeve to try and wipe away his tears. Looking at the corner of the photo, traces of a red pen were seen, the writing almost completely blurred out save for a few letters. But he still knew what it said, and it made him want to rip the picture to shreds.

"It isn't fair!" He shouted as he began to rip the photo, stopping when he felt a hand grab his wrist.

"Don't." Tatsumi's heart nearly stopped as he heard Drake's voice, the Dragon Slayer kneeling next to him.

His first instinct was to try and pull away, fighting against his hold with all that he could. However Drake's training and physical superiority made that impossible, making him resort to biting at his hand.

"Leff meh goooh!" He shouted, biting down as hard as he could.

"That's not going to happen." Drake stated, keeping his grip while wincing.

Tatsumi would then bite down harder, digging his teeth more and more into Drake's hand in a desperate attempt to free himself. It wasn't until he tasted copper that he realized he drew blood, shocking him into stopping and move back from Drake.

Looking up at Drake, Tatsumi froze as he saw his glare, the pointed stare intimidating him into silence.

"Are you done?" Drake asked. "Because we have to get you back, the Kazukas have been waiting to see you again for several hours now. And running off made them nervous."

The mentioning of his attempted adoptive parents brought resistance back to Tatsumi, the boy now summoning his wires and wrapping them around Drake's ankles. "Leave me alone!" He shouted as he threw Drake to the side, the boy releasing Tatsumi's wrist before being flung into the other wall hard.

Drake fell to the ground with a groan, placing his hand on his back as he coughed from a sudden loss of air. Seeing the mix of pain from Drake along with his bleeding hand seemed to snap Tatsumi back to reality, forcing his wires away and running over to the fallen boy.

"Drake! I-I-I… I didn't mean it! I swear I didn't, it just happened and I, I, please don't make her send me away!" He begged as Drake sat up, hugging the Slayer as he began to cry again. "I don't want to leave! I know you and Granny hate me, but I promise I'll change! I'll stop being annoying, I won't break any more of Granny's rules! Just please, don't get rid of me!"

"What are you saying?" Drake asked as he regained his breath, gently wrapping his arms around the scared child in a comforting embrace.

"I always cause… cause you and Granny trouble…" Tatsumi sobbed, burying his head in Drake's chest. "I… I just always thought that… that it was the only way you'd… you'd pay attention and I… I don't want to be sent away! I'll stop and get better, so you won't hate me anymore!"

"Tatsumi, we don't hate you." Drake spoke lightly, placing the hand that wasn't bleeding on the child's head. "You can be annoying at times, and your pranks can go too far sometimes, but never once have I or Granny hated you."

"R-Really?" Tatsumi stuttered, looking up to Drake to reveal his tears and snot.

"Of course, we're family."

"But… but you're trying to get rid of me."

"Because we believe you'd be happy with Mr. and Mrs. Kazuka." Drake said, using his thumb to clean off Tatsumi's tears. "See, there comes a time where we reach a question. One that hurts more than anything else."

"W-What is it?"

"Do we want to be selfish, or selfless?" He answered, using the bottom of his shirt to wipe off the snot under Tatsumi's nose. "Every time a pair of parents want to adopt someone, Granny comes to that same question. On one hand, every kid that lives in her orphanage is like her child, no matter how annoying they are." He chuckled, ruffling Tatsumi's hair as the boy moved to sit next to him. "And she would want nothing more than to see each and every one of you grow up and become who you were meant to."

"But on the other hand, she knows that as much as she loves having all of you around, there's a much better life out there waiting for you." Drake continued, wrapping his arm around Tatsumi's shoulders and pulling him into a side embrace. "You, Hami and Sasha deserve to be happy, and I know for certain the Kazukas can give you what Granny never could."

"What is that?" Tatsumi asked.

"A loving mother and father." Drake smiled. "Hami always told me how much you missed your parents, but how you were too proud to admit it. But let me tell you when I say that trying to pass up this opportunity is a horrible mistake."

Drake then tapped a finger to Tatsumi's chest, pointing to his heart as he spoke. "Deep down, you know you want another chance at having the family you two lost. But at the same time, the family you made with us is important to you and you don't want to lose it. And believe me, Granny and I don't want you to leave either. But we also want you to be happy."

"But what about you two? Won't you be sad if we left?"

"Of course, no one could replace you three. But what we want for you above anything else is you to be happy. And I know for a fact that you could get that happiness if you opened up and took this chance. Just think, you could have parents again, be apart of your own family and enjoy the joy of growing up with one." Despite his tone and smile, Tatsumi could see Drake's downcast eyes, seeing a mixture of sorrow and regret. He could almost tell this meant just as much to Drake as it did to him, and that thought made him look back down to his photo, seeing the small tear at the top.

"What were their names?" Drake asked as he looked down to the photo, speaking softly while keeping Tatsumi in a warm embrace.

"Mom's name was Himiki, and dad was Isaac."

"He's foreign, isn't he?" Drake noted, pointing to the man in the photo.

"Yeah, I think he was from Germany or France, I can't remember which."

"Well I can definitely tell you got your looks from your old man." Drake said as he ruffled his hair. "That mug's gonna look good on you when you grow into it."

"Stop, that's not funny." Tatsumi laughed, slowly calming down as the two bonded.

Drake laughed with him, his eyes tracing the photo until he saw the second girl. She appeared to be similar to Hami, with brown hair and grey eyes. "I didn't know you had another sister."

"You didn't?"

"Hami talked about your parents, but she never said anything about a sister."

"Her name was Isabela. She… she looked after us when mom and dad were on business." Tatsumi explained, looking down to his sister's face. "Her and her friend were always together, but I don't think I remember a moment when our parents were away that she wasn't by our side. She'd walk us to school, help make our lunches, even taught us to ride our first bike without mom or dad knowing."

"Sounds like a great sister."

"Yeah… she was."

"Same accident?"

"She died a year before, when we were nine." Tatsumi admitted, his tears slowly returning as he remembered the day.

"Hey, you don't have to tell me." Drake said. "If it hurts too much, you don't have to say anything.

"Th-Thanks…" Tatsumi then wiped his own tears away, looking up to Drake with a smile. "You know I… whenever I think of Isabela, I start to think of you."

"Is something growing and nobody told me?" Drake asked as he looked down to his chest, eliciting a shared laugh between the two.

"N-No I… I meant that she was always there for me. She was the perfect big sis and I… I took it for granted." Tatsumi admitted. "And I guess when I heard Hami and I were being adopted… I felt that suddenly I was going to lose my big brother. And I thought that… that you didn't care when you didn't back us up."

"Tatsumi, there's no force alive that could make me hate you." Drake said as he hugged him again, feeling him relax and return the hug. "You were always a pain, but I was the exact same growing up. Only mine was a lot worse."

"Really? You caused Granny trouble too?"

"Oh all kinds." Drake chuckled. "I picked fights with almost everyone, I was a one man army who couldn't replace an army but fought anyways. I couldn't even begin to count the amount of fights I got into and lost. Granny was always mad when she patched me up, but I know deep down she was happy I was there. I probably added a few years onto her, but she never once thought it wasn't worth it. And the same is with you."

"…Drake?" Tatsumi asked. "If it was you… would you go with them?"

"Would I?" Drake muttered to himself, humming as he did. "Wow, that's a good question. If it were me now, I'd probably turn it down. It's too late for me on that stuff. But when I was your age, I would've had my bags packed the moment I heard someone was getting adopted."

"You would?"

"I would've been so happy to have parents again, even if it'd likely mean I'd have to let go of my dream." Drake admitted. "But I would've gladly done it to get a taste of having people I could call my parents again. But now… I think I can pass with Granny for now."

Drake then looked up as he felt a drop of water on his head, seeing that storm clouds had moved in over them. "Oh man, it's gonna start raining." Drake then looked to Tatsumi, lightly shaking his shoulder. "Hey Tatsumi, we should probably move and get out of the rain. We can talk more when we get back to Granny, is that okay?"

"C-Could I talk to Hami first?" Tatsumi asked. "I need to… say sorry after I…"

"Ran out on her without giving it a second thought?" Drake guessed, hitting the dot as the boy looked down in shame. "Sure thing, it's the least you owe her." Drake said with a smile, the two standing up with drake having his arm still around Tatsumi's shoulders.

"Keep that photo in your pocket, don't want it to get doused do we?"

"Oh, right!" Tatsumi realized, putting the photo away.

"Okay, it's going to start coming down on us soon, so we'll have to go fast." Drake said with a grin as he felt several more drops hit him. "Want to go running while screaming like we normally do?"

"Yeah." Tatsumi grinned back, the two getting ready to start their run. "Oh… and Drake." Tatsumi spoke up, getting him to look down to him. "Thank you for coming for me. I'm sorry for the trouble."

"Hey, I'll always be there for you." Drake said with a smile, his nose twitching as he did. "Even if it's from yourself, I'll protect you."

**"Sadly, the last words he'll hear from you are lies!"** Drake's eyes widened in fear as the he heard the same hissing voice of the Stray Devil that attacked Akeno from behind. The Stray lunged right for Tatsumi, the boy not even able to turn around before he felt himself get knocked down, followed by the sickening sound of flesh being ripped.

"NOOOOOOOOO!"


	4. Fire Dragon Roar

"Are… are you okay?" Drake asked, standing over Tatsumi. One of the Stray Devil's jaw hands was currently biting into his back, the fangs having pierced right through his stomach. His blood slowly trailed down the snakehead, before a drop dripped off and landed on Tatsumi's cheek.

"D-Drake…?" The kid was staring in terror at Drake, freezing up in fear as Drake was continuing to bleed over him.

"Ah crap… this probably looks bad." Drake winced as he reached a hand to one of the two fangs piercing through him. "Tatsumi… looking probably isn't a good idea… might want to look away."

"B-But you-"

"Look away!" Drake shouted as fire erupted around his body, scaring the boy into closing his eyes and protecting his face with his arms. He then summoned his strength and gripped down on the tooth, pulling with all his strength and ripping it out of the snake's jaw and through his stomach.

**"Gah! You damn mage!"** The Stray Devil shouted in pain as it recoiled back, pulling itself back to avoid his flames. It looked down to the snakehead, growling as it saw its blood and venom flowing out from where he ripped the tooth out.

With the tooth now out of him, Drake threw it to the side and turned to face the Devil, his eyes widening in shock as he saw its condition. The Stray was covered in burns, a grid like pattern going across the scales from Akeno's blast of lightning all the way up to its face.

**"Disgusting, isn't it?"** The Stray asked, noticing his stare. **"This is what that bitch's lightning did to me. It ruined my appearance and left me recovering for the two days I was hiding. When I was finally healed I wanted nothing more than throw up at the hideous façade of my former self I had become."**

"You weren't exactly anything… good to look at before." Drake winced, pressing a hand over his injury. He couldn't tell the extent of his injury, but he felt certain enough that nothing important was hit. However the wave of fatigue that ran through him signaled the Stray's venom was already in affect.

_'This is bad, I can't fight this thing by myself. But I don't know how to contact Rias or any of the Devils.'_ He thought, cursing himself for leaving his phone back at the orphanage. _'Granny can't fight, but one of her spells would really do something about now. Then there's Tatsumi…'_

He then looked back to Tatsumi, seeing the kid shake in fear at the sight of the Stray Devil. He could see not only the terror but could see it as a familiar fear, like the boy had been in the same situation some time before. It didn't take him long to put together when it was, making him clench his teeth as he shook.

_'He doesn't have any experience fighting, and he's too scared to even go against this thing.'_ Drake then turned back to the Stray, his fire sizzling as the rain began to come down more, steam coming off of him and the scars of the Stray Devil.

"Tatsumi, I'm going to need you to run."

"W-What?"

"I'm going to distract the Stray. When I lunge at it, I want you to run as fast as you can back to Granny. Run as if the end of the world was coming, and don't turn back for even a second." Drake stated as he grabbed his school uniform's shirt and pulled it off, freeing his arms more as he forced his flames to intensify.

"No, you can't…" Tatsumi muttered as he stared at Drake's back. "You'll… you're already hurt. That thing will… it's going to…"

"Won't know unless I try." Drake put on a fake brave face, getting down into his stance as the Stray Devil grinned at him. "But I can't cut loose with you here. Get back to Granny and tell her what's going on. With any luck she can make it in time to back me up for this."

"I… I can't…"

**"You're right, you can't escape me! Because I won't let either of you live!"** The Stray shrieked as it lunged for Tatsumi, getting punched back as Drake intercepted it.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" He screamed as he put all his strength behind the punch, knocking the Stray a few meters away. His fist was shaking from the impact, having struck the hardened scales injuring his hand. However he kept it in a fist as his flames roared around him, fighting against the rain as it began to pour down around them.

"Tatsumi, run!" Drake ordered as he ran forward, the Stray swiping at him as he got close. He was able to duck underneath the attack, lunging up and bringing his elbow around as a jet of flames shot out from behind it. "Fire Dragon Flame Elbow!" He then brought his leg around, kicking it in its chest. "Get out of here! It's too dangerous for you to stay any longer!"

"But I… I can't get to Granny in time!" Tatsumi responded. "If I leave you'll die! I can do something, I-I-I can use my wires and-!"

"You can't!" Drake shouted as he got struck in his stomach by the Stray's arm, getting flung into the wall and causing several cracks to form. "This thing is too strong for you… it'll rip you apart in a second."

"But you-!"

"I can hold it off!" Drake interrupted as he fell back to the ground, landing on his feet and running right after the Stray again. "Go to Granny and get to safety! You still have to apologize to Hami and the others!"

**"Neither of you are going to leave here alive!"**

"Go!" Drake jumped over the Stray's arms, flipping over his shoulder and slamming his fist against its face. "Just get out of here!"

"Drake I… I…" Tears then began to run down Tatsumi's face as he got up, turning away as he started to run. "I'm sorry!"

"Don't be." Drake smiled, crossing his arms to block the Stray's swing and getting knocked a few feet back. He winced at the pain in his arms, but continued to smile as he looked over his arms. "This is what an older sibling does. Now get out of here, ya little runt."

**"He won't get far."** The Stray stated, liking its lips as it looked down to Drake. **"After I kill you, I'll track him down and rip him to pieces. Human children are much softer then adults, it makes them taste so much better going down."**

"You won't touch him." Drake responded, a fire forming in his eyes as a bolt of lightning went off above them, illuminating the area for a second. "I'm not planning on going down easily, I'll hold you off for the whole night if that's what I have to do."

**"You'll die in five minutes. Once I get a second lasting bite on you, the venom will spread through your entire body and shut your heart down."**

"You'll have to get past my fire first!" Drake shouted as he ran at the Stray, dodging to the side to avoid a slam from the monster and kicking up, hitting under its chin. It recoiled slightly, but the Stray's superior durability was keeping him from doing any lasting damage, throwing its head forward and hitting him square in his face.

**"And how long will you be able to keep it up?"** The Stray asked with an amused grin, watching as Drake landed on his back and caused the water to evaporate. **"With all this water, I can only imagine how much stress you're putting on yourself in order to keep them alit."**

Brushing his arm across his face, Drake wiped the blood from under his nose and glared, getting up as he burned with intensity. "This is a walk in the park for me, I have more than enough magic to keep up with you and this rain at the same time."

**"Well then, let's test that."** The Stray grinned, licking its lips in satisfaction. **"Let's see if your boiling temper affects your taste at all."**

* * *

"My, it's really begun to pour hasn't it?" Kiba spoke as he held an umbrella over his head, keeping the rain from getting him or the girl beside him wet.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it was going to rain and lost track of time." She said, poking her fingers together in embarrassment.

"Oh, it's no problem. I'm just glad I was here to keep you from getting caught in this." The Knight smiled. "It would have been a shame to leave you out all by yourself in this storm. Especially after seeing that there's lightning." AT the mention of it, a second bolt went off, getting the two to look up in surprise.

"It's starting to get worse."

"We should get you inside soon, wouldn't want you to catch a cold in this."

"Waaaaaaaaiiiiiiitttt!" The two stopped in their tracks as they heard shouting from behind, the two turning to see a terrified Tatsumi running through the pouring rain. They were momentarily confused at the sight before they saw Tatsumi slip and fall to the ground, landing on the sidewalk with a splash going around him from the puddles.

Seeing him go down snapped the two to move towards them, Kiba being sure to keep the umbrella over the girl until they reached them. He handed the umbrella to her so that he could kneel down and help the boy up to sit.

"Y-Y-Y-You're… you're one of…" Tatsumi stuttered as he shivered, the freezing rain getting to him after his fall.

"It's okay, take your time." Kiba said as he took his blazer off, placing it over Tatsumi's shoulders in hopes the dry clothes would do something. "Are you lost? Why are you out in the rain all by yourself?"

"Y-You're… you're… you're one of them, aren't you?" Tatsumi asked, confusing the Knight as the kid shivered in a mixture of cold and fear. "A… A Devil, right? I can sense… sense the power from you."

That instantly got Kiba's attention, surprised to know the young child knew what a Devil even was. "What are you talking about? Me, a Devil? That seems kind of rude don't you think?" He laughed, trying to play off the claim like it was simply a child fantasy.

"Please you… you have to help Drake!" Tatsumi begged as he grabbed onto Kiba's arm. "He's all by himself and he's… he's going to die!"

"Drake?" Kiba muttered before getting a hold of Tatsumi's shoulders, trying to calm him down. "Take it slow, breathe. What's going on?"

"It's… it's all my fault…" Tatsumi sobbed as he put his face in his hands, his tears mixing in with the rain on him. "I ran away and… and Drake went after me. We were about to go back to Granny when… when… when some snake Stray attacked us!" Kiba's eyes widened in realization, the reaction confusing the girl. "He stayed back so I could run but… but I don't think he can win! Please, I'll do whatever you want, but you have to save Drake!"

"Yuuto, what is he talking about?" The girl asked, leaning down to the two as she stared in confusion.

"Where did he want you to go?" Kiba asked, sounding determined as he looked to Tatsumi.

"The orphanage a couple blocks down, it's where we… where we both live."

"Sana, can you take him there?" Kiba asked the girl, standing up as he stared in the direction where Tatsumi came from. A second of sensing for it he detected Drake's magic, feeling it going everywhere as he fought.

"Yuuto, where are you going?"

"To help a friend." Kiba then took off, avoiding using his full speed as there was still a few unsuspecting humans in the area. He made sure to avoid running into anyone, moving with grace despite the constant flow of rain coming down.

When he ran across a field to get into the heart of town, he reached both his hands forward, a bright light forming as he summoned his magic. "Sword Birth!" When the light faded he was holding a sheathed sword in his left hand, and with his right he gripped the handle and removed the weapon from its sheath, revealing a pure black blade.

_'Hold on for a minute Drake.'_ Kiba glared as he took one last step, prepping himself before lunging out an intense speed, now running faster than a normal human would be able to follow. Yet despite his increase in speed, his handling wasn't affected in the slightest, being able to move from alleyway to alley without the need to even blink.

* * *

**"What's the matter mage, you're starting to slow down."** The Stray Devil taunted as it began to slither towards Drake.

The boy was currently on a single knee, panting heavily as he wiped the blood off his faces with his wrist. Along with constantly using his magic, his stamina was rapidly depleting from the Stray's venom and from drawing it further away from anyone it could hurt.

"Just making sure you… can keep up is… all…" Drake chuckled as he wobbled back up to his feet. "It's no fun if I'm… the only one able to show off my sick moves…"

_'I'm starting to run on fumes, if she gets another bite on me than I won't be able to move anymore.'_ He thought as his flames lost some ground, nearing closer to his body as the rainfall was weakening it as time went on.

**"Oh, you're interested in seeing a few tricks?"** The Stray grinned, raising up its arm that Drake had ripped a tooth out of. **"Then you'll find this a good treat."** The flesh around the snakemouth then convulsed for a second before a brand new tooth shot out, the set of fangs complete once again.

"You can regenerate teeth? No fair!"

**"That isn't all."** The Stray then puffed its mouth before spitting out a green liquid, Drake's instincts flaring and demanding that he dodged. When he moved out of the way, he looked to see that the concrete where the spit hit was dissolving rapidly.

"Acid spit?" He whined. "Why do bad guys get the cool stuff?"

His eyes then widened and he jumped back again, dodging two spit shots from the Stray's snakemouths, the limbs firing constantly to keep him moving. It caused a loud bellow to come from it, enjoying his desperate attempt to dodge each shot that came at him.

After dodging its latest spit, Drake jumped into the air and focused his fire into his palms, dismissing his barrier and leaving himself open. _'Please take the bait!'_

**"You're mine now!"** The Stray yelled, throwing itself up after Drake the moment it saw his protection vanish from him, thinking the balls of fire around his hands to be one of his Iron Fist attacks.

"Perfect!" Drake shouted with a grin as he put both his hands over his head, combining the fire and creating a ball of flame near his size. "Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!"

**"A projectile!?"** The Stray had no time to react as the attack hit it square in the body, sending it crashing into the ground and causing the streets to rumble when the flames exploded.

As smoke filled the area, Drake fell to the ground and landed on his back, his panting increasing as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. _'Maybe the Brilliant Flame wasn't such a good idea, I don't have any more magic to create a barrier anymore.'_ He then managed to push himself back up, clutching the hole in his stomach as he winced.

_'If it stays down for at least another minute, I might be able to gain some distance and-'_

**"What a warm gift you gave me."** Drake's breathing stopped as he heard the Stray's voice, looking up to see it slither out of the smoke without any new injuries. **"The rain was starting to give me a little chill, but that fire of yours has really hit the spot for me. My body feels loose again, like I can move back up to my full speed before my hideous injuries."**

_'Being a Devil is so cheap…'_ He complained to himself as he barely managed to spread his feet and get into what could barely be recognized as a combat stance. He was now beginning to loose feeling in his left arm, having to leave it hanging down while holding his right defensively in front of him.

**"Such a fighter, maybe you won't be such a bad meal after all~"** The Stray hummed as it liked her lips, her fork tongue sending a shiver down Drake's back. **"I've never had the pleasure of tasting a human mage, I wonder what the difference in taste will be?"**

"I'll warn you now, I'm gonna mess up your stomach as I go down."

**"You'll still taste better than the humans I've had since I got here!"** The Stray then lunged at Drake, the Dragon Slayer summoning fire around both his feet and using it to launch himself into the air.

"Fire Dragon Twin Talons!" Bringing both his feet down on the back of the Stray's head, he managed to knock its face down to the cement, using it to push himself off and try and gain some distance.

"G-Gah!" Before he got far however the Stray's right arm shot out and bit down on his leg, getting a pained scream from him before it slammed him down into the ground hard.

**"You're full of tricks mage, even my first hunter didn't put up this much of a fight."** The Stray stated as it got up, turning to him and holding him upside down in front of it. **"But I suppose I'm done playing with my food, it's best to get you prepared for digestion."**

Drake then winced as its second snakehead bit into his shoulder, the pairs of fangs injecting more venom into him and quickly weakening his resistance. He could barely keep his eyes open by the time it released his shoulder and looked at him.

**"Tame and at my mercy, just the way I like them."** The Stray then lifted him up more so that it had to look up, and with a sickening click unhinged its jaw as it slowly began to lower him down. **"Bon appetite."**

"This… is beyond gross…" Drake cringed as he stared down the Stray's mouth; barely able to speak as the venom was coursing through his body.

_'There's too much venom in me… and I don't have enough magic to preform any combat spells to stop it.'_ He then closed his eyes, embracing his fate as he was just over the beast's mouth. _'Tatsumi, it wasn't your fault… don't blame yourself. Granny, please don't stop helping everyone. Ise… I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye."_

**"Down the ha-GGGAAAAAHHHH!" **The Stray was about to place Drake inside it when suddenly it felt the snakehead holding Drake be completely cut off, its blood spraying out as it suddenly pulled away from Drake.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't eat my friend." Kiba said calmly as he caught Drake, placing one of his arms over his shoulders while keeping his sword pointed at the Stray.

"Kiba…?" Drake muttered out, his eyes opening enough to see the blond Devil currently keeping him up. "Why are you… here?"

"One of the kids from your orphanage came to me when he saw me. He was scared, but he told me what was happening and I requested that my pact take him back to your Granny." Kiba informed, getting a relaxed sigh from Drake as he let his head hang down.

"So he's… okay…"

**"You… you're a Devil."** The Stray seethed in pain as it glared at Kiba, the knight giving an apologetic smile.

"Yuuto Kiba at your service. I'm a Knight in service of Lady Rias of the Gremory clan. And friend of Drake Etheron, so it'd be wise to retreat while you still have a chance." Kiba warned, the light from a bolt of lightning reflecting off his sword and revealing the pure black material.

**"A Knight huh? My master had a Knight as well…"** It recalled, the bleeding from the limb slowly stopping as the scales moved to cover it. **"An annoying bastard that never let me do what I want. It was always follow master's rules and never think of myself for a minute. It was so relieving to rip his throat out of his neck."**

"You weren't much more of a pleasant person before you became a Devil were you?" The Knight asked, sliding his right foot back a bit as he readied himself.

**"I was weak before I broke my bonds. My master feared my strength despite being the one to give me my Rook strength. He was a fool, and I've grown past his control."**

"You can't fight her… directly…" Drake said, getting Kiba's attention. "She… it can… regenerate lost body parts."

**"Awww, you ruined the surprise squirt."** The Stray teased before grinning, her lost snakehead shooting out of her injury with a mix of blood and pus, seething from a sudden pain. **"Growing a new piece hurts the more complicated it is, but it feels fresh and rejuvenated after it pops out."**

"Drake, I'll have to put you down for a second. I'm going to need a stronger sword for this."

"It's too… fast…" Drake warned. "I could barely… follow it… and its hide protected it from… senpai's charged lightning."

"Akeno's strongest spell?" Kiba questioned before biting his lip, looking back to the Stray. "Then I don't have the power to cause any permanent damage. We'll have to retreat and call for reinforcements."

**"Like I'll let you!"** The Stray shouted as it pushed out at them, clearing the distance before Drake could even blink.

However, it wasn't nearly fast enough to catch Kiba off guard, who with Drake's arm still draped over his shoulders, was suddenly past her with his sword out, blood slowly going down the blade as he managed to cut out her eyes.

**"A-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! MY, MY EYES!"** The Stray shrieked in agony as it fell to its front, moving sporadically as it brought its open snakeheads to the damaged eyes. **"YOU DAMN BASTARD! I'LL RIP YOU APART TO TINY BITS! STARTING WITH YOU DAMN COCK FOR CUTTING OUT MY EYES!"**

"Such an interesting specimen." Kiba commented before dropping his sword, the blade vanishing as he ran off with Drake. "That should buy us enough time to get some distance and call Buchou."

"We won't… get far enough." Drake informed, already hearing the Stray's screaming go down as it forced its regeneration. "Too much of its poison is in me… and you're just dragging me at this point."

"It's okay, I may not be the strongest but I can still carry you and get you somewhere safe."

"If we leave it… it'll go after others. We have to take it… out here and now…"

"Drake, I understand what you mean but we don't have enough magic power combined to take it out." Kiba argued. "Even Akeno's strongest attack couldn't put it down, we can't copy that kind of power even if you weren't weakened."

"A couple dozen gallons of gas… beg to differ…" Drake then raised his hand up and pointed to their right, the blond Knight turning to follow it.

What he saw was a single gas station at the edge of town, and seeing it he realized that Drake had drawn the Stray to one of the least populated sections of town, most of the buildings around them vacant of anyone who could get caught in the crossfire.

"You're crazy." He stated, looking to Drake with a shocked glance.

"Granny's… called me worse." Drake chuckled as Kiba sprinted to the gas station in a second, entering and quickly placing Drake down by the counter.

"Sorry sir, but we're going to need you to-" Kiba then moved up and raised his hand, magic coursing around his hand as he prepared to put any employees in the building to sleep.

What he was shocked to see however, was that the station was completely vacant, not a single soul inside. And with a quick look around, there wasn't anyone outside either, the cars that they likely drove abandoned.

"Where is everyone?"

"Does it… matter?" Drake asked. "It makes our plan… easier."

"What is the plan exactly?" Kiba asked, concerned about the disappearance of the staff but focusing on the task at hand.

"Well… how quickly do you think you can cut out gas before… it gets here?"

"I'm certain I could get the fuel out even when it got here in a second, why?"

"See that car… in the center?" Drake asked. "Put me over there… and open the tank. When it gets close, cut the lines and get out as quick as… possible."

"Use you as bait and leave you behind, not going to happen." Kiba argued. "I'll get you out of here and-"

"It's healed." Drake spoke, surprising Kiba as he heard the shriek of rage before he did. "We don't have… time. Trust me… this plan will work."

"The explosion won't be enough, you'll wound it but you'll be blown up for nothing."

"Kiba… trust me." Drake responded, looking up to the Knight as his breathing became slightly hollow. "I know what… I'm doing. This'll work… I just need you to do… you're part. Then I'll… do mine."

The Devil looked down to his classmate with a worried expression. His wounds were bleeding worse and his breathing was getting shallow and less frequent. Paired with his near gone magic put him in the worst position to be bait for the Stray. But seeing Drake stare up to him, he saw recognized the determination in his eyes. He saw a fire that was unwilling to go out, and was going to burn even if the last of its embers tried to dull out.

"Okay…" Kiba nodded, eventually giving in as he helped Drake up. "But you have to promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"When this is over, we get you a proper introduction with everyone." The Knight smiled, surprising Drake. "Our last meeting was all business, so I want you to get to know everyone as we are. Students just like you. I'm sure you'd get along with everyone great if we do."

"Sure… I'd like that." Drake smiled back.

* * *

**"You can't hide from me bastards, I can smell you from miles away!"** The Stray shrieked in fury. **"The mage's blood gives you away, there's nowhere I won't be able to find you! Stop hiding and let me rip you to pieces!"**

"Who's hiding?" The Stray instantly snapped its attention over to Drake, the boy propping himself against the car to keep himself up. The Stray was at him instantly, slamming one of its snakeheads onto his chest and knocking him back into the car, nearly breaking him through the door and causing the glass to shatter.

_'That's a couple ribs broken…'_ Drake thought as he coughed out blood, looking up to the Stray weakly as he saw the fury in its eyes.

"Ouch… that's quite the nasty scar…" Drake laughed weakly, seeing the ripped scales and horrid red marks from Kiba's sword cutting out its eyes. "That must… have been painful…"

**"SILENCE!"** t screamed as it pushed him further into the car, the boy holding in a shout of pain from feeling a shard of glass dig into his back. **"Where is the Knight!? I know he didn't abandon you, I can smell he was here just a second ago!"**

"That's a good… nose you have." Drake chuckled. "Wish I could smell Kiba… all I can smell is our… surprise…"

**"What are you talking about?"** Glaring intently at Drake, the Stray noticed that Drake had a faint shine to his skin, somehow reflecting the lights in the gas stations lot. Taking a sniff, it realized that he was doused in gasoline, looking down to the car's tank to see that it was slashed open with a few drops coming out.

**"Y-You…!"** It growled as it looked down to him, its main fangs growing larger as it looked down to him. The grin on his face only raised its anger, feeling played by him despite having him in its clutches.

"Your poison's… really something…" Drake admitted, his fingers now moving slightly. "It completely… drained me of my magic. All but… a sliver for… a few sparks."

**"It won't be enough!"** It shouted as it raised its mouth, ready to bite down on his head. "**You'll kill yourself and don minimum damage to me! I'll hunt down the Knight and everyone else you've every encountered!"** In that second before it bit down, the Stray felt its entire body freeze in fear as Drake raised his left arm and shoved it into its mouth, taking the bite while glaring in rage at it.

"No one… hurts my… FAMILY!" Drake screamed. "KIBA, DO IT NOW!"

In the near blink of an eye, the Knight shot out and cut at every station in the lot, avoiding causing his own sparks and causing the gasoline to begin to move towards the pair at the center.

**"NO!"** The Stray attempted to pull back from Drake, releasing him but being stopped as he grabbed onto one of its fangs.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" He shouted as the times of his fingers erupted in flames, the fire quickly spreading across his body as he screamed. "FIRE DRAGON GAS DETONATION!" As he pulled back on the Stray, the gas bellow then caught flame, spreading to the car and causing an explosion to go off.

The fire then quickly spread to the rest of the gasoline around them, catching the stations and causing several more explosions to go off, erupting the entire parking lot in flames as debris was sent in every direction.

Kiba was forced to retreat back from the explosion, narrowly dodging a shard of metal from the car as it impaled into the ground where he was.

"Drake!" As the force of the explosions went away, he was about to run in after the Dragon Slayer when the Stray rushed out from the explosion, covered in more burn scars that covered most of its body.

**"I WON'T LET THIS GO WITHOUT PUNISHMENT!" **It shrieked in rage, its body trembling as its adrenaline from the near death of the explosion and flames pumped it into overdrive.** "I'LL CONSUME YOU WHOLE! BONES AND ALL JUST TO GET BACK AT THE DAMN MAGE!"**

"NO YOU WON'T!" Both the Stray and Kiba were shocked when they heard Drake scream out from the middle of the flames. Their shock was then amplified as they saw the flames begin to move towards the center, seemingly moving on their own before magically flying off the ground to the heart of the fire.

"No way…" Kiba muttered in amazement, seeing the flames slowly disappear as he began to hear the sound of Drake inhaling loudly. As the flames continued to seemingly disappear out of nowhere, Drake became more and more visible until he was seen standing tall, his mouth wide as the fire was flying straight into his mouth.

When the last of the flames entered his mouth, Drake burped loudly and wiped his mouth, his whole body still from the experience. The expected injuries that should've been on Drake were nowhere to be seen, the only notable damage taken being his clothes burning up with the flames, only his boxers somehow surviving as he managed to stand on his own.

Drake would take one last calming breath as he readied himself, opening his eyes in determination as flames exploded from his body as he was suddenly overflowing with magic.

_'The legends of Dragon Slayers are really true then…'_ Kiba stood in awe, having for the first time seen the display of a Dragon Slayer's immunity and capability of consuming the element they possessed. He had read of the ability once, but to see it first hand was a sight he never expected to be so… unnatural.

"This is for scaring Tatsumi you scaled bitch!" Drake shouted as he puffed his cheeks, his eyes glowing red as the flames covered his entire body. A large swell of magic then pooled up to his mouth, the fire around him vanishing suddenly as both Kiba and the Stray felt all of his magic focus into the single point.

"Fire Dragon-!" Realizing his position behind the Stray, Kiba quickly ran up to it and impaled his sword into its tail, eliciting a pained cry from it before he lunged away. He then winced in pain as one of the snakeheads managed to graze his back, cutting through his uniform and leaving a set of diagonal cuts on his skin.

**"No no no no no NO NO NONONONONONONONO! IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS!"** The Stray panicked as it tried to pull itself free, Kiba's sword doing its job and managing to keep it from escaping. It then looked hopelessly at Kiba summoned a massive two-handed sword to use as a shield while Drake opened his mouth.

"-RRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" In a bellow of pure fury and power, a horizontal cyclone of flames shot out of Drake's mouth and quickly expanded, easily double the size of the Stray that helplessly stared as the heat caught it on fire before it even connected.

**"NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO-!" **The Stray couldn't even finish its scream as the moment the flames overcame it, it was already being burned to a crisp. Slowly it turned to dust as the flames consumed it entirely.

The roar of magic didn't stop as it rapidly went through the streets, spreading and causing mayhem for nearly three blocks before finally stopping, dispersing before it could go any further. The fires created slowly died out without the source, most of the flames not managing to burn on their own.

"Amazing…" Kiba spoke as he slowly stood up, looking past his greatsword to see the damage that was caused. "Just from eating that fire, he was able to summon enough magic to make a spell with enough power to match the explosion and Akeno's attack." He then saw Drake stand in place, steam coming off from the ground around him as the concrete was scorched completely in front of him. "This is power of a barely developed Dragon Slayer?"

Drake then turned to Kiba, the Knight seeing a small smile on his face as he flashed a thumbs up. "Told you I… could do it…"

"Yes, you did." Kiba chuckled, relaxing as he saw Drake seem mostly okay. That calm quickly vanished as the Dragon Slayer fell to his back, the Devil releasing his weapon and running over to him. "Drake!"

"The… poison's kicking in…" Drake coughed as he laid motionlessly. His skin began to become extremely pale, enough for his veins to become visible and his eyes slowly went bloodshot. "I can't… feel my body anymore. I… I think I'm… dying…"

"No, no you'll be okay." Kiba then began to panic, seeing Drake's eyes begin to gloss over as he stared blankly into the sky. "With that much magic Buchou will be here any minute. We'll make you another antidote and get you healed before… before… just hold on a little bit longer!"

"Hey Kiba… I did good, right?"

"Yes, of course you did. You showed that Stray Devil that the title Dragon Slayer means something. Now save your strength, another minute and I'm sure-!"

"Not… that." Drake said, managing to turn his head to look up to the Knight. "I mean… be a good friend?" The question surprised Kiba, seeing the faint smile from Drake as his breathing became shallower. "I saw you… get cut. Are you… okay?"

That threw Kiba off guard as he stared down to the Dragon Slayer. There he was, dying a slow and painful death by the Stray Devil's venom, and he was concerned about him? The two had only talked a few days ago, and here he was showing concern like they had been friends since childhood.

"No… not again…" Kiba muttered as he began to shake, tightening his hands into fists as tears built in his eyes. "Not again… it can't happen, happen again."

"Hey Kiba… I'm feeling… tired." Drake said, his eyes barely kept up as he now lost complete focus in his eyes, unable to see the Knight that was cradling and keeping him up. By now his senses were dimmed so much he couldn't even tell if Kiba was still holding onto him.

"Drake, don't close your eyes. Don't you dare close your eyes!" Kiba screamed. "This isn't where you're going to die, you hear me! Listen to me, don't close your eyes no matter what you do!" It was tearing the Devil apart seeing Drake slowly stop moving, his chest no longer moving up as his breathing stopped. He knew that Rias could revive him with an Evil Piece, but knew at the same time that the venom in his body would still be present and start the process over again. And with how far spread it is, he would likely die in a fraction of time again. They wouldn't even be able to create enough of an antidote to stall the venom before then.

"Damn it… why is this happening again…" Kiba questioned as a tear dropped off his face. "Drake I'm… I'm sorry. It's my fault you can't achieve your dream, that your life… your life has to end here."

"No… it's not." Drake managed to gasp out before closing his eyes, managing to let out a smile before going limp in the Knight's arms.

Kiba could only stare in horror as Drake's body stopped moving, almost feeling the life leave him in his last moments. And as the rain continued to fall on them, he couldn't bring himself to move, remaining by the fallen Dragon Slayer's side as the storm continued.

Just a few seconds after Drake passed, the Gremory clan symbol appeared on the ground a few feet away. In a simple flash the rest of the Peerage teleported to them, taking a single step before seeing Kiba sitting on the concrete while keeping Drake's body comfortable.

"Kiba!" Rias shouted in concern as she ran to him, going down next to him and placing a hand on his shoulder as he continued to look down. "Kiba, are you okay? We detected a massive spike in magic and…" The Devil heiress trailed off as she looked down to see Drake, his peaceful smile on his pain filled body sending a colder chill down her back than the rain.

"Etheron… was he…" Rias tried to ask, looking back up to Kiba as the Knight remained silent, his hair covering his eyes as he barely moved.

"He… he was only trying to protect his family…" Kiba eventually spoke, chocking up as he looked up to Rias, his tears running down his face. "We failed our duty and… and he paid the price for it."

"I'm sorry Kiba." Was all Rias could say as she embraced her servant, leaning his head on her shoulder as she hugged him. She knew from the previous encounter that Drake had been bitten, and from his condition was likely too far gone for her magic to save.

"Etheron… I'm sorry." Akeno apologized, looking to his still body. "It was my responsibility to eliminate the Stray Devil, and because of my blunder you lost your life. Forgive me."

"…You weren't as bad as I thought you would be…" Despite her cold sounding words, Koneko was visibly sad at the Dragon Slayer's passing. She didn't know him well, only by the reputation he had in the school and their single meeting. She knew he had went out of his way to help Akeno, but never would've expected he'd go so far as to sacrifice himself for someone else.

The devils all remained there in silence, unable to think of any other words to say and waited for Kiba to calm himself, the Knight unable to find the strength too as he continued to cry for his friends death.

"Brat! Brat where are you!" The Devils were confused when they heard screaming, looking to where the scorches left by Drake's roar was to see Porlyusica running through the rain, stopping to look at the surrounding area. There was a look of desperation on the old woman's face as she saw the devils, her eyes narrowing dangerous as she saw Drake's body.

"Get away from him!" Before any of them could register the woman's magic, a massive gust of wind sent them all flying back. They had all managed to land on their feet save for Kiba, all staring in shock as the elderly woman displayed so much magic before then suddenly being next to Drake.

"Brat, brat wake up." She said as she was knelt down next to him, grasping his shoulders as she tried to shake him. When he wouldn't respond, Porlyusica would place her index and middle finger to his neck, feeling for a pulse from the boy.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" Kiba said as he looked down. "He's… he's…"

"Not on any of your lives." She responded, holding both her hands over Drake's chest as a green magic circle formed. The magic then began to course out and slowly go across Drake's body. "Come on brat, don't die on me now."

The Devils watched in silence as Porlyusica poured a massive amount of magic constantly into Drake without showing any signs of being fatigued. She was completely focused on him, not even blinking as the storm continued to pour around them.

After almost a full minute of using her magic, the old woman's magic circle vanished and she looked down to Drake, gently cradling his face as color slowly returned to his skin.

"Brat, please wake up." Porlyusica said as she looked down to Drake in concern, holding her breath as she waited for any signs of life from him.

"Mmmmm…" Slowly, Drake's eyes opened and he looked to Porlyusica, seeing her leaning over him as his vision vaguely returned. "G… Granny?"

"Yes, I'm here brat. Can you hear me?" She asked, smiling in relief as his eyes opened. Meanwhile all of the Devils were in shock and awe, seeing life return to the boy as if going against death itself.

"It's her…" There was no question now, Rias knew without a shadow of a doubt who the old woman that ran the Fairy Tail orphanage in Kuoh was. Her proficiency in healing magic and amount of power that was felt behind her made it all clear. "To think that the Sky Dragon has been in Kuoh all this time."

"Drake!" Kiba shouted as he got up, beginning to run to the downed boy.

"Kiba no!"

"Devil scum." Porlyusica said as she looked up to the Knight. "Don't you take a step closer or I'll-" The woman however stopped as she felt Drake reach for her arm, gently grabbing it to get her attention.

"It's okay Granny." Drake smiled. "He's… he's a friend."

"They're the reason you almost died. That Stray Devil wouldn't have come even close to Kuoh if it wasn't for them!"

"Granny… we both knew this was going to happen sooner or later." Drake responded. "We were just lucky that Kiba was here, he's the reason you could… save me." Drake then closed his eyes again as he released Porlyusica.

"Drake!" Kiba panicked again as he slid next to the two, looking down to him in concern. "Drake, please tell me you're-!"

"He's fine." Porlyusica stated, looking over to Kiba with distain. "I removed the poison and rejuvenated his lifeforce. He was nearly too far gone."

"Thank you…" Kiba breathed out as he looked down. His body shaking as he placed his hands on his knees.

"It's your fault he nearly died." She responded, picking up Drake and carrying him in her arms. "I suggest you all go back to wherever you Devils crawl and call home. I have to get him out of this rain."

"Grandeeney, I would request that we're able to come with you." Rias spoke up, taking a step forward as she did.

"If you know that name, then you should already know the answer as well as my thoughts on Devils like you." Porlyusica stated, her eyes glowing as she stared back to Rias.

"I understand, but I wish to make amends with Drake. It was our fault he nearly died. I only ask that you give us a minute so that we may express our thanks, Lady Grandeeney."

"…A minute." Porlyusica said as she turned and started to walk off, heading for the orphanage. "And stop saying that name, I abandoned that life years ago. If you must pain my ears with your sullied voice, refer to me as I am now. Porlyusica, and nothing else."

"Thank you." Rias bowed, thanking her luck that the woman agreed as easily as she did. Not to mention not attacking as she was expecting.

"…Senpai." Kiba looked up to see Koneko offer a hand up. "…Let's make sure he's okay."

"Thank you Koneko." Kiba responded, taking the girl's hand and getting pulled up.

* * *

In the distance a single figure was watching. The darkness made it difficult to see, however based on the movement of the clothes in the wind, he could be identified as a student at Kuoh. "Whew, that could've ended worse." he said as he wiped his head, looking at down as he rubbed his forehead. "Good thing I was here when Drake got close. This could've gone a whole lot worse if I didn't."

He then reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and going to his contacts. "Well, I should probably report this to them. But... I think I'll keep this on the down low for a couple days." he said, crushing his phone in his hand. "He'll probably need the night to recover. And maybe some time to slow his way into this now that the supernatural is without a doubt going to flood into his life quickly."

* * *

**(A/N): Holy shit this came out quick. I was pumped from the last chapter and this came out faster than I was expecting it to. I can't really say a lot, my editing has kept me up late and I am tired, but glad I got this out and feel satisfied. Not a major author's note, but I figure I'd say that this chapter was surprisingly fun to write. And as always, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Peace!**


	5. Request

"I'm so sorry!"

Just an hour after Porlyusica healed his wounds, Drake had awoken on one of the orphanage's couches and sitting up before being tackled back down by a sobbing Tatsumi.

"Hey, hey, I said it's okay. Everything worked out didn't it?" Drake's senses were still disoriented, which made it difficult for him to even understand his own words. However he had enough awareness to wrap his arms back around Tatsumi and return the boy's desperate embrace.

"That's an interesting choice of words considering your heart stopped for nearly a minute." Porlyusica commented as she stood up from her chair.

"Eh… I'm sure it could've been worse." Drake said, sniffing the air to know where she and anyone else in the building could be. "Wait… were the others here?"

"We still are." Kiba spoke up, getting Drake to start looking back and forth in confusion.

"Wait, you're serious!? Granny let you in the building without ripping you to chunks!?"

"What kind of beast do you take me for brat!?" Porlyusica demanded as she slapped the back of Drake's head, the two glaring electricity between them as a result.

"A Dragon, obviously! What else would I put you under as: Crabby Mean Lady!?"

"If it wasn't for your condition and Tatsumi being there I'd teach you a lesson you brat…" Porlyusica growled as she looked down to him before sighing, calming herself before her glare turned to somber concern. "How are you feeling?"

"…Head's a little fuzzy, and I can't see too well right now." Drake answered, taking a hand off of Tatsumi to rub his forehead.

"The venom likely has side effects that will last for a couple hours." Rias informed. "It's rare for a Stray Devil to have venom, but unless it managed to evolve somehow the effects should only be temporary since Porlyusica's healing has expelled the lethal amount."

"A full night's rest and you should be back to your normal self brat, as disappoint as that will be." The elderly woman joked, smiling at Drake as he chuckled back.

"Aw, now you're just being mean Granny." Drake smiled before turning to the Devils in the room. "What about Kiba? Didn't he get cut by the Stray near the end?"

"You don't need to worry Drake, I'm fine." Kiba responded, waving his hand to dismiss the question. "I didn't take that bad of a hit, not nearly as bad as you did."

"The Knight's injuries were minimal, and he barely had any venom in him due to him avoiding a direct bite." Porlyusica explained, ignoring Kiba's claim completely. "Of course though he appears to have been surprisingly more fragile than you and nearly passed out from the amount in him."

"You almost passed out? Are you sure you're okay Kiba? I think Granny has a few potions lying around that can-"

"You are not offering them of all things my remedies!"

"You're in worse condition Etheron, I'm surprised you're as concerned for Kiba as you are." Rias commented.

"He's my friend, of course I'd be concerned for him." Drake spoke.

"And despite Porlyusica's views towards us?"

"I did mention Granny hates most people right? If I shared that kind a view I wouldn't be able to be friends with Ise and the others would I?" Drake asked with a grin, chucking to himself.

"No… I suppose not." Rias smiled back, the boy's enthusiasm despite his technical death coming as a welcome surprise.

"Well, you know he's going to live, now you can leave." Porlyusica stated as she regarded the Devils. "I have enough on my plate now and I'd rather not waste any more time entertaining spawn such as yourself."

"But Granny, they haven't done anything wrong. You don't have to act so mean to them."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand brat, you always look for the best in others. But I wouldn't be surprised if this was just a plan to force you into her Peerage."

"I would never force someone into my Peerage. Etheron had declined my offer and I respected his desire to remain human." Rias spoke, not taking the insult lightly. "All of my Peerage are my family, I gave them the choice to join me."

"You think this is my first time dealing with the "bleeding heart" masters in this world?" Porlyusica questioned, barely regarding the Devil heiress. "I know your type, you speak kindly and scheme behind those unsuspecting of you. If he wasn't pumped full of venom I don't doubt for a second that you would've turned him into one of your servants, too valuable of a tool to just let go."

"Granny-"

"I've lived longer than most of your kind, I've seen more in this world than you could possibly imagine. I've seen civilizations rise and fall because of the influence of those with "bleeding hearts" for the sake of a noble cause. Do not think for a second I would just believe you don't have an ulterior motive for saving the brat. And if you think I wouldn't come out of retirement to teach a Devil like you why you should never go behind my back then you're-"

"Granny!" Drake's shout surprised the elderly woman, who seemed to have snapped out of a trance to look over to him. "I don't understand it, but I'd be blind if I didn't understand that you hold a grudge against the world… more blind than I am right now." Drake's serious aura broke for a second; recounting the fact he couldn't fully see Porlyusica's form.

"And I can tell that grudge is pushed more against the Christian factions more than anything else. I'm sure whatever happened hurt you, and I won't tell you top forgive and forget. But Kiba and the others had nothing to do with what happened." He then looked to his guardian with sadden eyes. "You always told me that my past doesn't define me. Why should their race's past define them any more than mine does?"

"They… they aren't bad people Granny." Tatsumi spoke as he managed to calm himself. "They saved Drake even if it didn't benefit them… don't they deserve a chance?"

"…Sometimes I wish I could share your youthful outlooks." Porlyusica sighed as she closed her eyes, allowing herself to calm down before speaking to Rias again. "I do not wish to entertain you any longer. The Kazukas have been kind enough to wait to see Tatsumi and after everything they won't be able to until tomorrow morning. I'd also wish to have another look at the brat's injuries and I'd prefer if none of you were here to bother me while I do."

Porlyusica's attitude was still cold, but she was putting an effort to come off as respectful, even adding in a small bow at the end as she wished the Devils off.

"Very well, we'll respect your wishes and leave." Rias agreed. "Etheron, on behalf of the Gremory clan, I would like to thank you for dealing with the Stray Devil. It was our responsibility and because of our failure you were dragged into our affairs unjustly."

"Ah well… it's nothing…" Drake responded with a blush, rubbing the back of his head as he was embarrassed by the praise.

"Be sure to get better Etheron." Akeno smiled as she followed Rias out.

"…See ya." Koneko said simply before following the two, leaving Kiba as the last Devil in the building.

"Drake…"

"Don't." The Dragon Slayer interrupted, smiling up to Kiba as he did. "You didn't do anything wrong, in fact if it wasn't for you Tatsumi and I would have been as good as dead."

"I wasn't fast enough to save you, it's Porlyusica that saved you, not me." The Knight responded in shame, looking down as he did. "If it wasn't for her, you would've died."

"Probably, but before that you did something no one else has before." Drake stated, grinning as he held his fist out to him. "You trusted my judgment and put your faith in me. You didn't put off my plan as just crazy and it's thanks to that we managed to kill that Stray together."

"…You dealt the damage, I just distracted it a bit." Kiba eventually said, smiling as the two shared a fist bump.

"Let's just split it and call it even? Sound fair?"

"Sure." Kiba chuckled before walking to the door, stopping to look back to Drake one last time. "See you in class tomorrow Drake. Try and get some rest until then." And with that, the Knight closed the door and the three were left alone, remaining in silence for a minute as the tension went down.

"…You trust them too much."

"Yeah well maybe you're too grouchy."

"Brat."

* * *

"So, what can you report to me Raynare?" A man wearing all black asked as he sat behind an old stone desk. He had short black hair and violet eyes, appearing to be a man in his mid thirties with an above average build. But the feature that stood out the most in regards to him was his ten feathered wings on his back, all as black as night with a unique silver hue to them.

Raynare, who appeared to be slightly taller more developed and a single pair of similar wings to the man now as she revealed her true form. She wore a skimpy black leather attire, leaving little to the imagination to serve her purpose as a Fallen Angel.

"Lord Mastema, Hyoudou has shown no signs of having developed his Sacred Gear." Raynare informed as she bowed down to the man, avoiding sharing a gaze with the man as she did. "There is no implication that he has any knowledge of it or the supernatural for that matter. He's just… a disgusting example of humanity." She said with annoyance, cringing at the interactions she's had to go through with him.

"No signs of the Sacred Gear huh?" Mastema wondered as he looked up to the ceiling of their hideout, a small Christian church at the edge of Kuoh on top of a set of high hills.

_'That bastard said there'd be something interesting in this town. Yet we've found nothing but a dirt end town with a Sacred Gear user with no knowledge of what he even possesses!'_ He thought through gritted teeth, a white aura forming around him as he felt his blood boil. _'Nothing here even registers under my radar as power, just a few outbursts of magic and nothing else! How long must I wait to be entertained!?'_

"L-L-Lord Mastema…" Raynare stuttered in fear as she felt the man's power, shaking at the raw strength behind it. Due to his ten wings, Mastema was what Fallen Angels refer to as Cadre's, individuals of their race that would be considered comparable to that of a top-tier High-Class Devil. And with their bridge in strength, Raynare could barely manage to breath as his magic flooded the room.

"Oh, I forgot about you for a second." Mastema commented as he calmed himself, the lesser Fallen Angel now able to breathe properly and slightly relax. "Please continue Raynare, I believe you had a few other things to report outside of your mission involving the boy?"

"Y-Yes Lord Mastema." Raynare said, keeping her head bowed to show her respect. "On my second day of recon, I had encountered someone that had recognized me instantly: a boy my age by the name of Drake Etheron."

"Etheron…" Mastema hummed as he rubbed his chin, finding the name familiar and enticing. "Has he interfered in any way?"

"No sir, he called me out in private and I revealed little more than that I am keeping an eye on Hyoudou. After that he has done no more to interact with me and has seemingly been avoiding Hyoudou."

"Do you believe he could be a threat?"

"None whatsoever sir." Raynare answered. "His magic is bellow par and could do little to damage even a weaker Stray Devil. At the most he would be at Mittelt's level or even lower in regards to his magic power."

"And physically?"

"…He could potentially match Dohnaseek and possibly myself if he has enough of a wind up." Raynare was hesitant to answer, fearing the Cadre's response to the knowledge as the strength in power could serve as an interest to him. "He is nowhere near capable of matching Uzza in a battle and is unlikely to develop at any rate."

"Interesting, that physically capable for a human?" Mastema pondered, putting his feet on top of the stone desk. "Tell me, do we have any knowledge on what his magic is?"

"I… I am unaware sir." Raynare stuttered, getting Mastema's attention as she sounded more nervous.

"Are you now? Tell me, haven't you had one of your underlings watching him since we got here? And had reported that they saw him attack one of those vermin just a few days ago?" His voice then became more serious as he looked at Raynare, the girl flinching in fear despite not seeing the gaze. "Now I'm going to ask again, and this time if you do not answer truthfully, I will have you replaced and find someone else who will."

"He… he is a Fire Dragon Slayer… Lord Mastema." She eventually relented; fearing for her life as the subtle presence of his magic slowly flooded the room again. But as quickly as she answered, the pressure was gone as well.

"Good, was that so hard?" Mastema asked before standing up, slowly walking to Raynare as she remained on her knees. "So, a Fire Dragon Slayer. There hasn't been a Second Generation one in hundreds of years, so he must be a First Generation Slayer. Which means there must be quite the potential power behind him."

"I-I would recommend avoiding making a move on him sir!" Raynare stated, looking up as she did before realizing her blunder looking back down quickly as she staggered to continue. "W-W-W-What I mean my Lord, pardon my interruption, is that he's being protected by one of the former Dragon Kings. Grann… Grandeeney is his guardian and appears to be extremely protective of him!"

"The Sky Dragon King took in a child?"

"She runs the orphanage in town, she has for the past two decades." Raynare informed, shaking as the Cadre walked closer to her.

"So she has…" he muttered to himself as he stopped by his underling, staring down at her as he pondered the information. "Tell me Raynare; you were raised in that orphanage for a while yes?"

"O-Only for two years, Lord Mastema."

"Do you know this Etheron personally? To an extent anyways?"

"We… we were both brought into the orphanage a month apart from each other." She answered. "We have had no communication with each other since I was adopted, and I have no idea on where he stands within the supernatural."

"And yet you say he recognized you after all that time." Mastema hummed as he noted that fact. "Do you believe he would react in any way should Hyoudou be… caught in a difficult situation?"

"My Lord?"

"Hypothetically of course." Mastema added. "Lord Azazel did give us orders to only observe him. I just wish to know in case potentially some vermin should attempt to attack the boy?"

"…I have no doubt he'd jump into danger in order to protect Hyoudou." Raynare admitted, knowing the boy's tendency to put himself in harms way from their past.

"Interesting… so then I guess we'll have to keep an extra eye on the both of them then." The Cadre then walked away from Raynare over to a nearby window, staring out it as he folded his hands behind his back. "Inform your team to observe Etheron carefully, we wouldn't want the Sky Dragon King to see our mission as a threat to her foster child, now would we?"

"Of course, Lord Mastema." Raynare responded, standing up and walking out as quickly as she could without appearing beyond terrified.

As she closed the door, Mastema pulled a green crystal ball out from his pocket, an object known as a Lacrima that could absorb magic and take on different effects. It then glowed for a second before another man appeared in the sphere, with long black hair and glowing red eyes.

"Mastema, what is it?"

"Kokabiel, have I got something interesting to tell you." The Cadre grinned as he looked into the crystal, his own eyes glowing for a second as his power seeped out of him once more.

* * *

"I thought he was going to kill me there…" Raynare breathed out as she walked away from Mastema's office, leaning against the wall nearby as she steadied herself.

_'He was getting angry when I tried to hide Drake's magic, why does he care so much about him anyways? As far as we know he's just a human with a Lost Magic.'_ The Fallen Angel's eyes then widened as she thought about how she put herself in harms way trying to keep his magic a secret, questioning the horrible choice in survival instincts.

_'Why did I put any effort into hiding it anyways? Keeping secrets from Mastema like that could've gotten me killed if I didn't reveal them. Why go through that trouble when I owe him no allegiance? He's just a human, no different then the disgraces he calls friends!'_

"Raynare! I'm back!" The Fallen Angel's thoughts were interrupted as she heard one of her team call out for her, looking up to see Mittelt flying through the doors and landing on her feet. Mittelt was younger than Raynare by about a year, however in terms of appearance she appeared much younger. She could pass off as 14 or even 14 based on how underdeveloped she was, and standing no taller than 4'9" even with her slightly heeled shoes.

She had blonde hair tied back into twintails and blue eyes, a trait that was rare among Fallen Angels unless they were born of a recently fallen Angel. She wore a black Lolita dress with white frills, a large black bow on the front of her chest with a small green gem at the center, white thigh high socks and black shoes. Overall, she appeared as an ideal Gothic Lolita.

"Ah Mittelt, you're back." Raynare smiled as she regarded the girl, embracing her as she ran in for a hug. "How was your mission?"

"It went well, no one even knew I was there." She informed as she stepped back. "I saw something pretty interesting though, that Stray the Devils were supposed to eliminate actually survived the Lightning attack."

"It did? That Devil was supposed to be one of the most powerful in regards to raw magic power, how did that vermin survive a full on attack?"

"Apparently it used to be one of those Rook things the Devils have and its mutation managed to survive the attack. But that's not the most interesting part. That thing had a grudge against that human and went after him of all people, can you believe that."

"It did what!?" Raynare questioned, grabbing Mittelt's shoulders. "The human, Drake, is he okay? Did something happen to him?"

"It seemed he actually died, but then this old lady with pink hair showed up and preformed some spell that seemed to completely heal him."

_'Granny…'_ Raynare sighed in relief, releasing Mittelt as she recomposed herself.

"Anything else happen?"

"The human pulled off a trick that really came as a surprise. He and one of the Devils were fighting the Stray before he acted as bait to draw the thing in to a gas station. When it caught up the Devil cut the cords and he blew up the whole place with him at the center."

_'That insane idiot!'_

"But that's not even the crazy part." Mittelt continued, grinning as she recalled the spectacle. "After he blew himself and the Stray up, he sucked up all of the fire produced and then shouted it all like an actual Dragon! There wasn't even a trace left of the vermin when the flames settled!"

_'He… he managed to slay a Stray Rook?'_ Raynare thought in surprise, not ever expecting Drake to be capable of such a feat. _'Even with a Dragon Slayer's power being amplified by eating the element they correspond with, he shouldn't be anywhere near that powerful yet. That's just… it's impossible. Lord Mastema will…!'_

"Is Lord Mastema in his office right now?" Mittelt asked, looking over Raynare's shoulder to the room. "I think he'll want to know we have a potential target now with the human's-"

"Wait!" Raynare stopped Mittelt as she walked past, grabbing her shoulder. The action surprised Mittelt and even seemed to confuse Raynare to an extent, the latter composing herself to continue. "Lord Mastema is in the middle of… a call right now. Interrupting him would make him rather upset."

"Ah, I see then." Mittelt nodded, knowing that upsetting the Cadre would be a death wish to any of them. "Do you know where Uzza is? I was hoping to see him before I went to bed."

"I believe him and Kalawarner are having a… session, currently." Raynare spoke, recalling having last seen the two together before going to report to Mastema.

"Oh, I understand then…" Mittelt said, disappointed as she kicked a rock to the side. "I guess I'll just… go boss around some of the priests or something then. Bye Raynare."

"Mittelt, wait." Raynare called out before the blonde could walk away, keeping her attention. "What you saw tonight, you mustn't tell anyone what had happened. It's important that you don't tell anyone. Not Dohnaseek, Kalawarner or Uzza, and especially don't tell Lord Mastema or any of his special team."

"What, but why?" She asked, confused at the notion. "Shouldn't they be informed of the risk the human could pose if he develops his power and allies with the Devils?"

"He is unlikely to join them, besides we are not intending to become enemies in any sense. We're just to preform recon, nothing more. Please Mittelt, this is really important, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone about this."

"Is he dangerous?"

"It's the people around him that's more of a threat, he himself won't be a problem." Raynare explained. "Trust me Mittelt, nothing wrong will happen if you don't tell anyone."

"Well, he did seem pretty weak during the fight. And I guess he'll be scared into staying away from us after nearly dying. And Lord Mastema's guys are total jerks." Mittelt commented before smiling up to Raynare. "Since it's you Raynare, I won't tell anyone. It'll stay our little secret!"

"Thank you…" Raynare sighed as the girl skipped away, heading down the church staircase. "I did more for you than I ever did for anyone else Drake, and now I might have put a target on my back." She'd say to herself, looking out the window up to the moon.

_'Be smart for once in your life, please don't pursue this world any further. I won't be able to do anything if I do…'_

Realizing her thoughts, Raynare's cheeks turned red slightly before she slapped herself, getting them out of her head as she turned her stare back to a hard glare.

_'Stop, THINKING, about him. He's none of your concern; you haven't thought of him for ten years, he's no longer of any importance to you! He's just a stupid human now that's painting a target on his back the size of Kuoh!'_

_'There's nothing to even consider; I have no stakes with him. And he has none for me…'_

_"You don't have to act like you hate me, we're friends aren't we?"_

"No…" She muttered to herself as she walked away from the window, hiding herself in the darkness of the church's hall as she held her arms. "We're not."

* * *

"Is this… really goodbye?" Tatsumi asked as he looked up to Drake. It was the fateful morning that he, Sasha and Hami would have to leave, and all of them were outside waiting for their adoptive parents and Porlyusica to come out and finalize the process.

"Not forever, I promise one day we'll get back into contact." Drake responded as he knelt down to the three, smiling as he ruffled his hair. "But until then, I'm expecting all of you to be on your best behavior. And don't think I won't figure out if you all are being little brats, trust me I will."

"Drake…" Sasha spoke up as she held a hairband in her hands, appearing nervous as she looked away.

The notion caused Drake to sigh blissfully as he took the band from Sasha, getting a smile from her as she turned around. He then expertly tied her hair back into a ponytail, fluffing it up a bit at the end.

"You're gonna have to start doing that yourself, or hope that Mrs. Furan is able to tie it back for you." He chuckled as she turned back to him. "God, to think you've only been here for two years. It's not going to be the same having you three running around here."

The three then stepped forward and wrapped Drake in a hug, getting him to return the embrace to all of them.

When Hami looked up to him, Drake gave her a grin and rubbed her head, adding in a thumbs up as the four separated. "No problem Hami, I'll be sure to keep an eye on Granny. God only knows if we'll pick up bigger trouble makers than you and your brother."

"Brat, it's time." Porlyusica said as she walked out, being followed by the Furans and Kazukas.

"I know…" Drake responded, standing up slowly as he did. He was about to turn to go beside Porlyusica before Tatsumi wrapped his arms around him for one last hug. "Tatsumi?"

"I… I just wanted to say that I… I… it's just that I…" The boy stuttered, trying to find the right words but too embarrassed to utter them.

Luckily for him however, the Dragon Slayer knew exactly what he was trying to say and patted his head. "I love you too Tatsumi."

After their embrace, the newly formed families each entered their cars and drove off. Both Drake and Porlyusica remained outside to see them off, the boy raised his right hand up high, his index finger and thumb extended out in a familiar gesture between the group, to which the three kids returned with the same gesture.

"They'll be happy brat, there's no need to worry." Porlyusica said as she looked over to the boy, seeing the faint traces of tears in his eyes as he lowered his arm to wipe them away.

"I know… it just doesn't ever get easier watching them go." He responded, smiling as he stared at where he last saw them. "They're going to do great things in the world, I just know it."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, there's not a lot in this world to even want to improve anyways." Porlyusica stated, turning to walk back into the orphanage. "Now come on, you have less than an hour before you have to head out and I don't plan on you going on an empty stomach."

"Awww Granny, you do care." Drake teased as he turned to follow.

"I don't need you going down another alley and getting caught up in another stunt because you forgot to eat anything."

"I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

"You're lucky no one questioned that the man that tried to kidnap you had fresh scorch marks on his clothes."

"Like a normal kid's gonna burn a man."

"Once again, lucky there was no questions."

"Cruel!"

* * *

_'Okay, you can do this Drake.'_ Drake thought to himself as he walked towards the old academy building. The day had gone by relatively well, excluding a moment or two when Drake's chest flared in pain. It made focusing on class impossible, but gave him plenty to think about in regards to what had happened yesterday. And in that time he came to a conclusion, leading him to seek out the ORC.

He knew the layout of the building after his last visit, walking through the hallway towards the stairs when he saw a door completely tapped off, humming in response as he walked up. "Don't recall that last time, huh." Stopping at the second floor, Drake then made his way to the clubroom that he had been treated in previously and brought his hand up, pausing for a second.

_'It's now or never, Granny won't do this so I'm the only one that can.'_ Steeling himself, Drake knocked on the ORC clubroom door, preparing himself for what comes next.

"Hey Rias, are you there? I need to talk to you on something." The boy was only waiting for a second before Akeno answered the door.

"Ah Etheron, you appear well." She greeted, smiling as she did. "How can I help you?"

"Hello Akeno, I was wondering if Rias was available? There's something I wanted to talk to her about."

"Oh, I'm sorry. You just missed her, she's currently out on a contract with a client right now." The senior explained. "She should be back in about an hour, you could stay and wait for her if you like."

"I-I couldn't do that, wouldn't it be bad if a human like me was interfering with your guys' work like that?"

"Nonsense, most of our work in the clubroom is personal stuff. Our pacts summon us to them so any business is dealt with outside of the clubroom."

"It still feels rude of me…"

"It's no trouble I promise you." Akeno stated, opening the door all the way to allow the Dragon Slayer in. "It would be more rude of us to simply wave you off. Especially after the trouble we caused you over the past few days."

"I… I guess if you insist." Drake said slowly, walking in while rubbing the back of his head. "And you don't have to feel that you owe me anything, I did kinda throw myself into that mess."

"Every life in town is our responsibility, your safety is a part of our mission in Kuoh." Akeno spoke, motioning him to one of the couches. "Please sit yourself, I'll make some tea."

"Y-You don't have to."

"Ara Ara, I insist Drake." Akeno laughed lightly as she closed the door and walked towards one the storage closet in the room. "You're my kohai, it's my job as your senior to make sure you're comfortable."

"That… that isn't necessary." He said meekly as he sat down on the couch. Having the chance, he noted that the only other person in the room besides him and Akeno was Koneko; the first year student sitting on the couch across the table from him doing some of her homework.

"…Sup?" She asked without looking up from her papers.

"Eh, nothing much I guess." He shrugged. "How bout you?"

"…Same."

"Got a lot of homework there?"

"…Just math."

"Ah, that must suck." Drake said rubbing the back of his head with a grin. "I suck with numbers personally, never really got the hang of working with them. I can read them no problem, but stuff like equations are well beyond me."

"…I figured that." Koneko responded, not surprised at the piece of information.

"Hehe, yeah your senpai's a little bad at homework." Drake chuckled.

_'Man, she's harder to read than Hami, and Koneko-chan actually talks! Did I say something back then that upset her?'_

"…I'm not much of a talker." Koneko's comment caused Drake to jump in his seat, almost going in a protective cradle position over it.

"C-Can you read minds?"

"…No." Koneko stated, getting a sigh from him. "…Idiots' thoughts are easy to predict."

"That's just mean!"

"Please don't mind Koneko-chan." Akeno said as she walked back to the pair, pushing a cart with several teacups and a teapot on the top. "She just often speaks her mind, she doesn't mean to come off as rude."

_'But that means she thinks me as an idiot…'_

"…You are."

"Please stop doing that." Drake begged.

"How would you like your tea Etheron?" Akeno would change the subject, setting two cups for both him and Koneko.

"Oh, um… just a cube of sugar please."

After the request, Akeno poured the warm tea into the two cups, placing a single cube of sugar for Drake. She had known Koneko long enough to know she preferred much more sugar, placing eight in before mixing the two thoroughly.

_'Th-That's a lot of sugar.'_

"…You got a problem with that?"

"Please stop doing that it scares me!" Drake pleaded as he huddled closer to the couch, genuinely scared at how well the girl was predicting his thoughts.

"…Don't hate." She commented as Akeno handed her the cup, getting a grateful nod from the white haired girl. "Thank you senpai."

"Of course Koneko-chan." Akeno smiled before handing Drake his cup, the boy cautiously taking it while keeping a close eye on Koneko. "I hope you enjoy Etheron."

"U-Um yeah… thank you." Drake nodded as he held the cup, not willing to risk taking his focus off his kohai before taking a sip. The tea was hot, something he had no problem with given his magic. However he was surprised by the taste, a sensation of relief and rejuvenation running through him.

"W-Wow… Akeno this is… this is amazing!"

"Ara Ara, thank you. Honestly I didn't figure it'd be too good, I've been experimenting with new ingredients."

"Are you kidding, this is the best tea I've ever had!" Drake said as he began to drink the rest. "Granny's tea only tastes like leaves and other random plants from her greenery, I didn't know tea could have a different flavor like this! I just thought tea all tasted like hot water, but yours is a hundred times better!"

"…Stop trying to score points." Koneko spoke up, causing Drake to raise an eyebrow in confusion as he put the cup down.

"What points?"

"…Points to get in bed."

"That wouldn't make sense, Akeno and I don't even live in the same home." Drake responded. "Why would I need points from talking to her to sleep in my own bed?"

"…You're not serious."

"I don't even know what we're talking about."

"Oh Etheron, I think she means by…" Akeno then leaned down by Drake's ear and began to whisper, each word causing the boy's eyes to widen slowly in realization. The moment she was done Drake had jumped behind the couch and hid most of himself behind it, pointing to the younger girl with a red face.

"I-I-I-I didn't mean that at all! I was just saying that Akeno's tea was really good! Why would I do something like that!?"

"…That's what every guy says."

"I don't! You're the one putting words in my mouth, not me!"

"Ara Ara, such a flatterer and he isn't even aware." Akeno laughed at the boy's flustered expression. "And to think I took it as a simple compliment. Such a naughty boy."

"You're not helping!"

* * *

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Rias asked from her desk, sitting with her hands folded together while Drake stood across from her.

"Well I… sort of had something I wanted to ask of you…" Drake said as he coughed into his hand.

"Well, I'm more than willing to listen to any requests you may have." She stated, motioning him to speak. "Simply ask and I will see what I may do to try and fulfill it."

"…Watch what you say next." Koneko warned from the couch, getting Drake to jump in place while a subtle blush returned.

"I told you it wasn't like that!" He shouted back to the girl, smacking his cheeks to try and keep him focused.

_'No, focus, don't let that get to you.'_

"Rias I… I sort of wanted to ask… what I mean is…" Drake struggled to say, finding it difficult to continue for some reason.

"…Yes?"

"I'm sorry I… this is a little more difficult for me than I was expecting." Drake admitted as he sighed, taking a second to compose himself before looking to the red haired Devil. "Rias, I… I guess I have to explain it first." He relented, knowing he had to work himself into what he wanted to ask.

"I'm weak, there's no doubting that. Ever since I was little I always got into fights with other kids, they always made fun of my hair or called me a liar when I told them I saw a Dragon. I had a short fuse, and I'd try to fight them. But no matter the amount of times I fought, I lost every single time. I never managed to get even a single win, but I thought that since I learned magic that I'd be stronger now."

The boy then looked down to his hand, seeing a flash of when he was dying; seeing his completely pale skin and veins, getting him to close it into a fist in order to get rid of the image.

"Last night proved that to me. Even after learning Dragon Slayer magic I'm still no different than I was back then; a weakling who doesn't stay down. Tatsumi was in danger and all I could manage was holding the Stray back for a minute. If Kiba wasn't there, it would've killed me and probably got Tatsumi too."

The whole room could feel the confliction in Drake, his fist shaking as embers slowly burned around his arm. At the same time, they could sense the confliction in him, the subtle twitch of his fingers showing the fear that he had when recalling the night before.

"My little brother was in danger and all I could do was… was hold that thing back. He could've died and all I could say was I'll try my best. It just… it makes me hate myself!" He grunted as the flames bursted around his hand, the Dragon Slayer looking down to the fire in disappointment. "I learned a Lost Magic, and I couldn't even fight a B-Class Stray Devil! What's the point of this power if I can't even guarantee that I can protect the people I care about?"

"Drake, are you asking to become a Devil?" Rias questioned, she herself sounding subtly surprised at the notion.

"No, I don't think I'm really on board for that." He admitted, shaking his head as the flames dissipated. "Becoming a Devil, it feels like I'd be betraying Granny after everything she's done for me. I wasn't planning on even considering this either, but after that Stray nearly killed me, I know I can't wait anymore."

Steeling himself, Drake strengthened his resolve as he slammed both his hands down on Rias' desk, bowing his head down as he announced what he had been trying to say since the start.

"Rias Gremory, please train me!"

"Train you?"

"I know that's asking a lot, we've only just met a couple days ago and I have no right to ask something from you; but there's no one else I can go to!" He stated, looking back up to her and showing his desperation. "Granny won't train me herself, she doesn't want me to learn any more than the basics in regards to fighting. She thinks that we can just lay low and ignore everything that happens around us. But I know that's wrong! There's going to be bigger threats, and I can't develop myself quick enough to prepare myself when someone worse shows up!"

"You do realize what you're asking for right?' Rias asked in response, measuring Drake's expressions as she did. "For you to be trained by a Devil, a High-Class Devil no less, you'll be aligning yourself with us. Those who consider us as enemies will consider you the same. You'll paint a target right on your back."

"At least then I'll be able to cover it." Drake responded. "And I don't care what side I'm on, in the end all I want to do is protect my friends. I'll do that as an ally of Devils, Angels or even Fallen Angels; if it means I can keep them safe I'll side with whoever is willing to teach me."

"You'll be going against Porlyusica in making this decision."

"Granny's gotten me this far, but now I have to start making these decisions for myself. I know that I have to do this, because if I don't then something worse than last night will happen, I just know it." Drake then bowed down again, closing his eyes as he pleaded to the Devil.

"Please Rias, I have to do this and you're the only one who I trust to help. I'll do anything to get trained!"

"Anything…" Rias mussed as she thought over the words, an idea coming to mind as she looked to him with a stern stare. "Would you die for me? If our enemy had us overwhelmed and I ordered you to stall them so that we may retreat, would you do it?"

"Without a second thought." Drake answered, looking up in determination. "If they want to hurt any of you, they'll have to go through me. I vow as a Dragon Slayer that I will not rest until I know I've kept my friends safe."

The two then stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, neither so much as blinking as they traded gazes. Not a single word was spoken between the two as they stood their ground in the other's gaze. If the other occupants in the room weren't Devils, they'd miss the faint trace of magic that was building up in the room.

Once the two had stared the other down for a minute, their magic suddenly dispersed, both relaxing as Rias smiled to the Dragon Slayer.

"Very well, I see no problem with this arrangement since you're so resolute." Rias spoke, getting a growing smile from Drake.

"You mean…"

"We'll begin your training tomorrow after school." She informed, reaching into her desk and pulling out several papers. "There are a few extra steps to this, you'll have to form a pact with each of us so that you may be considered an ally. You'll then receive a marking so that your status as a Gremory ally is confirmed, and you'll be expected to serve as an independent mage until you've officially joined a guild recognized by the Devil faction."

"Yes! I'm finally going to be able to train for real!" Drake cheered as he grinned widely, pumping his arms up in excitement. "This is going to be kickass! I promise you Rias you're not going to regret this decision!"

"No, I don't feel I will." She agreed, smiling at his excitement.

"Ara Ara, how exuberant." Akeno commented as she placed a hand on her cheek. "I'm sure that'll work well for you in the days to come."

"…He's gonna get crushed."

_'No I won't!'_

"…We'll see."

"Why must you keep doing that!?"

"Buchou, I'm back from my contract." Kiba said as he suddenly teleported in the room from a magic circle, looking over to Drake in surprise as he saw him. "Drake, you're here?"

"Guess what Kiba, Rias agreed to help with my training!" Drake shouted as he ran over to the Knight, placing his hands up on Kiba's shoulders as he continued to grin openly. "That means I'm just another step closer to my dream!"

"That… that's great Drake." Kiba smiled back as he returned the gesture. "I'm sure you'll reach a new level of strength in no time."

"I can't wait to get started! I'm so pumped up I can hardly keep myself still!" The Dragon Slayer then released Kiba and burst into flames, his magic activating as he began to run around the room. "I'll be able to cut loose again, and it won't be because I'm fighting for my life! I'm all fired up now!"

"…He's starting to burn the carpet." Koneko pointed out, noting the burnt footmarks on the ground and small sparks going across the room from Drake's magic.

"Um, Drake, could you turn off your magic?" Kiba asked, taking a few steps back to be completely out of Drake's path as he seemed to pick up speed. "You're going to catch something on fire at this rate."

"Sorry Kiba, can't hear you!" Drake responded, having seen the Knight's mouth move but didn't catch the words. "I'm too pumped up and full of energy to focus on my senses! I'm going to actually start training seriously!"

"…He caught something on fire." Koneko added in, noting the small fire on the back of the couch before placing her hand on it to put it out.

"Akeno, could you please?" Rias requested of the Queen, getting a smile in return.

"Of course Rias, it'll just be a second." She responded, lightning crackling across her hands. As Drake was about to make his next pass around her, the Queen summoned a bolt of lightning down on the boy, the spell easily cutting through his cloak of fire and electrocuting him.

"AHJGASHDSKHABSADKBDHDASHJK!" The boy screamed incoherently as he was convulsing from the spell, remaining on his feet for several seconds as the lightning continued to come down before the Queen stopped. Once the bolt was gone he instantly fell to the ground on his side, covered in soot with his mouth wide open and eyes spinning from the pain.

"Ara Ara, now Etheron it would be rude of you to go and start causing damage so soon into your agreement." Akeno would say with a smile, a faint blush on her cheeks as she stared down to the boy who convulsed on occasion, a spark of lightning dashing across him every once in awhile.

"S-Sorry…" He whined in pain as he remained on the ground, his body unable to move from the bolt of lightning's effect on him. A single fire then formed on his shoulder out of instinct from the stray lightning going across him, instantly getting put out by a fire extinguisher held by Koneko. "Th-Thanks…"

"…Don't do it again." She warned, keeping the extinguisher aimed at him, expecting another flame to appear.

_'This should prove to be an interesting development.'_ Rias thought, watching in amusement as Koneko sprayed him with foam seemingly unprovoked.

"…If you have the guts to think it, say it."

"…Kiba… help…"

"Sorry Drake… I'm afraid I must remain uninvolved in this. It appears to be between you and Koneko-chan."

"…Traitor…"


	6. Training And Altercations

"Gah!"

"You have to be quicker on your feet Drake, Koneko-chan has a speed advantage over you!"

"Yeah… only a speed advantage." Drake groaned as he held his stomach, having just suffered a gut punch from the white haired loli.

It had been a few days since Rias had agreed to train Drake, and since then he's pent almost the entire time outside of school with them. Each day started early, with him and Kiba running the entirety of Kuoh twice in the morning before classes; with the others following on bikes. Aside from the annoyance of the blonde Knight always being two steps ahead of him, it was quite possibly the easiest part of the training.

The second part of training, which they were on now, was hand-to-hand sparring, with the Peerage's Rook being the ideal choice to teach him. Not only was she the best melee fighter in the group, she also was more than willing to push him to his physical limits; going hard enough that he wasn't easily keeping up but not getting knocked around in two hits.

The group was currently out in the field next to Kuoh Academy; with the weekend having begun there were no worries for them to be caught in the training. And even then, with them currently just in martial arts there wouldn't be any reason to be concerned with human eyes.

"…You just staying down or what?" Koneko would ask, the girl in her gym uniform as to avoid ruining her regular uniform.

"Nah, just taking a breather Ko-chan." He would respond, getting back up and getting into his stance. Much like his kouhai, he was in his gym uniform, save for his jacket which was folded next to Kiba; the Knight acting as the referee for the spar.

"…What did I say about that nickname?" Koneko would say as she lunged forward, Drake barely side stepping out of the way and swinging his fist at the girl. It came as no surprise to him that she easily turned and caught the punch, returning her own that he blocked with his forearm.

"What, I think it's really nice." Drake winced as he got some distance between them, proven pointless as the girl reached him in a second and punched his cheek, getting him to recoil. As he did though, he brought his leg up and kicked the side of her head, not doing any damage but getting her head to move slightly.

"…I don't like it." She said as she grabbed his leg, turning her body and throwing him hard into the ground.

Drake coughed in pain from the impact, taking a few seconds to regain his breath while the girl stood over him. The latest slam had done a number on him, and the several bruises across his visible body were showing that the sparring was starting to take its toll on him.

"That's enough Koneko-chan." Kiba said as he walked up to the two. "You've been at it for over an hour now, I'd say that warrants a break."

"…Fine." Koneko said as she walked over to Rias and Akeno, the latter of the two smiling as she handed her kouhai a bottle of water.

"You feeling good Drake?" Kiba would ask, kneeling next to Drake as he let out one last cough.

"Yeah I'm… just getting the dirt out." He'd say, shaking his head before getting up enough to sit. "Ko-chan's hits are getting harder every day. You think she's got something against me?"

"No, she just knows that you're improving." Rias would say, walking over to the two and giving Drake his own bottle of water, which he graciously accepted and chugged down. "It's only been a few days but you're making some progress. You're not nearly as strong as needed, but I believe you would last much longer against the Stray Devil if you had to fight it again."

"Please don't remind me of that, I still taste its poison sometimes." Drake cringed, sticking his tongue out in disgust at the memory. "It made its way into my stomach and back up, I swear it tasted like tar and all the worst medicines put together."

"How would you-?"

"I don't ask you about your life."

"…Okay aside from that, how do you feel right now in regards to magic power?" Rias asked, slightly taken back by how childishly defensive he was over the last part.

"I mean, I can definitely feel my magic growing stronger." He said as he ignited his left hand in flames. "But I can't really get a good grasp of it without a real fight you know? Sparring with Ko-chan is fun and I can try to keep up with Kiba all day long, but there's just a level of training that I still need before I can better grasp it."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Rias asked. "You've done well, but full combat with magic is a completely different scenario to hand-to-hand. You're going to feel it a lot more."

"I don't care about that." Drake said as he got back up, feeling his strength return after his match with Koneko. "Physical training is what I've worked with for years, I need to get swinging with my flames if I'm going to really make an impact in fights. You get what I'm saying right?"

"Yes, although I don't like the pace you want to go." Rias said, sighing as she thought about his request. True, his physical strength was above that of the average human and he had good magic control. But his experience in fighting magic was small, likely nonexistent if the Devil had to guess. Even with his Sacred Gear, he could risk taking serious damage should they allow a full magic spar.

"C'mon Rias, at least let me try one round with magic." Drake pleaded, putting his hands together as he did. "If it doesn't go well we can call a pause on that and stick with hand-to-hand."

"…One round." Rias would relent, holding a finger up to emphasis her point. "I'll allow one round with magic. I don't feel you're ready for it, but if you want to see what you can do then we'll go with it."

"Yes, finally get to cut loose without being in a fight with a Stray!" Drake would silently pump to himself before turning back to Koneko. "So what do you say Ko-chan? You ready for me to start going all out?"

"…No."

"Huh?"

"Koneko-chan doesn't use magic very often." Rias explained, getting him to turn back to her. "Her abilities are rather limited in that field, so she won't be who you're training with."

"So then Kiba?"

"Sorry, I can only do swords." Kiba apologized. "It's not very compatible in training with your style."

"So then that leaves…"

"Ara Ara, so it's my turn to teach my kouhai a few tricks." Akeno would say, smiling as the boy looked to her.

"So, not that I have a problem with it, but is Akeno-senpai really my only option for a magic fight?" Drake asked, looking back to Rias.

"It's either her or me, would you wish to have a spar with me?" Rias would ask, smiling in amusement as she saw Drake realize the position he was in. Akeno's intense and quick lightning, or Rias' unstoppable Power of Destruction, it didn't leave him with many great options in terms of training at his current state.

"W-Well then… I guess it'll be you and me, senpai." Drake said, stepping towards the center of the area the group has been using.

"I'll be sure to make sure our session lasts, I don't want your training to end short." Akeno would respond, stepping into position a few meters away from the boy, appearing completely composed.

"Don't." Drake stated, getting into his stance as he stared her down. "I don't want to go into this knowing your intention is making this last. I want to know just how much I can take, so come at me with the intent of keeping me down please. Not all out, but with what you feel is needed to bring me to my knees in a minute or two."

"Ara Ara, how forward of a request." Akeno said with a small blush, confusing Drake as she took a slightly more ready position, lightning dancing across her fingertips as she smiled to her kouhai. "Very well, I'll be sure to treat you the way you want and show you a portion of my power."

"Thank you senpai." Drake smiled in return as he lowered his stance more, already showing his intent to lunge forward the moment their sparring session would start.

"Alright, on my mark you two will begin." Kiba stated as he held a hand up, looking between the two before staring at Drake. "Are you sure you want it like this Drake? It won't go well if Akeno-san is actively trying to beat you."

"I'll be fine Kiba." Drake winked, his smile turning to an excited smirk as he turned back to Akeno. "I need to know this, and I saw what Akeno's lightning to do. It helps set the stage for where I'm really at."

"If you say so." Kiba said. "Ready… BEGIN!"

"Here I come senpai!" Drake shouted as he lunged out, a cloak of fire erupting around him as he moved in immediately for an Iron Fist. Due to the predictability of this move, Akeno was already in the midst of the dodge when he took off, missing and hitting the ground with his fist.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Turning to face the Queen, he shot out again, this time moving quicker to prevent her from completely avoiding his attack. However as he would see, even in close quarters she was able to avoid his punch, her smile remaining as he brought his leg up for an arcing kick.

As she was in the midst of dodging, the fire around his leg grew more intense as he attempted to bring it back to capitalize on her evasion. This was however met with Akeno reaching her hand forward, lightning shooting out and completely overpowering his flame.

Drake was barely even able to register the attack as it caused him to spin rapidly, the force of her lightning causing him to crash head first into the ground with a heavy thud, his fire deactivating around him from the sudden amount of power hitting him.

"…This won't last long." Koneko commented as Drake pushed himself onto his hands and knees, feeling a lasting trace of lightning go up his body before dispersing.

"Reconsidering this Drake?" Rias asked, taking note of the boy having trouble pushing up from taking a blast of lightning.

"Are you kidding, this is what I was waiting for." He grinned, getting up on a knee as he looked across to Akeno, the girl smiling as his fire formed around him again. "A fight isn't fun if you aren't being pushed to your limit."

"Well then, I'll be sure to help you discover that limit." Akeno responded, watching as Drake stomped onto both his feet.

"I wouldn't expect any less!" Rushing forward again, Drake would attempt a flurry of Fire Dragon spells, trying to land either an Iron Fist or Talon on the Devil. However just like before, each attack seemed to just be missing its mark, Akeno appearing to always be just a second faster than him.

He knew that while Akeno more than likely had an experience advantage over him, her ability to dodge his every attack had to come from the Evil Piece that was used to reincarnate her. A Queen was the strongest piece of a Peerage, meant to be the King's second and most reliable ally. In comparison to a Knight or Rook, who only saw an increase in speed or strength, Akeno's Queen piece gave her a boost in not only both those two, but even her magic capabilities as well.

In every situation she was superior to him in this fight, even if her experience in using the speed portion of her Evil Piece was apparently lacking. But he knew that she only needed the amount she had, as his speed could only be slightly ahead that of an average human.

"You can't dodge forever senpai!" Drake shouted as he kicked low, sliding across the dirt as he attempted to take her legs out from under her. Akeno had avoided this by jumping, the Dragon Slayer sliding past her before pushing his arm to the side, flipping over and landing standing.

"Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" Forming the massive ball of flame over his head, Drake threw it right at the Devil, who would raise both her hands and charge her lightning across her arms.

"Resound, Thunder!" Firing a massive bolt of lightning, Akeno easily destroyed the spell and forced Drake to dodge to the side, his hair on the back of his neck standing as the magic barely missed him.

_'She doesn't have to charge to use that spell, good to know!'_ He thought as he swallowed the saliva in his throat, his instincts temporarily making him refuse to move. But even then he fought against it and began to run after her, channeling his fire to focus around his arms as he once again aimed to charge her.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fi-!" Before he could attempt to swing his fist, Drake was met with a lightning bolt to his chest. The power was more than enough to break his concentration on his magic and forced the fire to disperse again, the lightning dragging him across the ground for a second before vanishing, leaving him in a small trail of the impact.

"Oh my, I may have gone overboard with that one." Akeno said as she saw Drake remain on the ground, the electricity sparking across his body as he seemed to be struggling to move his limbs.

"Drake, are you okay?" Kiba asked as he ran over to his downed friend, kneeling next to him as Drake's body shook from taking a blast of lightning head on.

"Y-Y-Yeah… I'm fine." He stuttered, the Dragon Slayer attempting to push himself up despite his muscles contracting on themselves. His entire body felt like it was trying to lock up, not unexpected given the nature of Akeno's magic.

"Should I call off the match?" The Knight questioned as he was reaching to help him up, but was stopped as Drake held his hand to him.

"Not… N-Not yet." Drake would state, slamming his fist down into the ground, attempting to fight against his shaking as he pushed up to his knees. "I still got a bit more in me, I ain't quitting that quickly!"

Gritting his teeth, Drake would unleash an explosion of his flames, surrounding his entire body as he was fighting against his body's desire collapse. He could feel the electricity from Akeno's attacks still moving across him, but as he increased the output of his magic it would begin to slowly fade away in a blind haze.

Ever slowly the magic was pushed from his body to course around his flames, his magic attempting to eat away at it. The struggle was eating away at his magic rapidly, forcing more out of him then he was capable of supporting. But even then, he continued to push against Akeno's magic traces, the ground around him beginning to spark in flames.

_'Impressive, he's using his flames to fight against the paralysis.'_ Rias would think as she watched his flames slowly begin to tame out, the remnants of lightning vanishing amidst the fire. _'That technique drained almost all of his magic, but to see someone who isn't a Phoenix use fire in such a way is unheard of.'_

"Okay… one last charge." Drake muttered to himself, turning to Akeno while planting his feet, feeling his magic reserves nearing empty from the move. "Make it count."

As Drake pushed his feet into the dirt, Akeno was in her readied stance once more, watching as he lunged out with the remaining strength he had. As she moved to dodge again, Drake stopped before reaching close, lowering his body to plant his right hand on the ground. The Queen saw then that his body was angling in accordance with her movement, predicting the dodge in the middle of his rush.

'_He learned my pattern already?'_ She'd think as he pushed forward again, this time with them being too close for her to dodge away while on ground. However as he threw his fist at the Devil, she surprised him by taking off into the air, preventing a second chance at changing direction with her advantage of flight.

The Dragon Slayer was caught off guard by the move, especially seeing her take flight without the use of her wings, but didn't stop as he sucked in his cloak of flames and puffed his cheeks. "Fire Dragon Roar!" Using the remaining magic in his body, Drake would fire a pillar of flames from his mouth, aiming to hit Akeno in an all or nothing move.

"Roar, thunder!" Charging her magic in her palms for a second, Akeno created a magic circle in front of her that had stopped the flames from hitting her, then channeling her power through to fire a massive bolt of lighting against the Dragon Roar.

The two spells had initially collided with a spread, both magic types splashing in each direction. But due to his loss of magic, Drake's roar was almost instantly overtaken by Akeno's lightning, leaving the Dragon Slayer to watch helplessly as the bolt flew towards him.

"G-GAAAAHH" When the lightning struck him, Drake would let out a shout of pain, feeling this bolt course through his entire body in a second. The power alone overwhelmed his senses and before the magic even settled, his body collapsed onto the ground, his conscious fading as the last thing he saw before passing out was Akeno landing on the ground.

_'So this… is my limit?'_

* * *

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" A waitress would ask, placing two glasses of lemonade down on the table.

"No thank you, that'll be good for now." Dante responded, giving the waitress a smile as she walked away. He'd then pull one of the glasses closer to him, playing with the straw for a second before hearing the door next to his booth open. "Huh, I thought you were in town, but I didn't assume you'd show yourself."

"Well it isn't every day you get a call from someone like you Dante." A boy would say, sitting across from the golden haired student. He appeared to be around the same age as Dante, with brown hair and dark blue eyes. He wore a casual set of loose clothing, revealing a below average build.

"I suppose not, except for the people who sent you here." Dante would chuckle, taking a sip from his lemonade. "So, what's the name this time around?"

"Going with the classic Joachim, although this time my last name's Silverwing." Joachim answered.

"Silverwing… that's what you're going with?" Dante smirked, shaking his head as he shrugged. "Guess it isn't the most ridiculous name in town; considering we have an Etheron, Entria, and a Gremory running around."

"Wait, so Rias didn't try to hide her name?"

"Almost no one here's Catholic or Christian, so she gets a pass. Could've at least tried to be sneaky though."

"A Gremory being sneaky? I don't see that happening." The two would share a chuckle, the air around them calm as they eased themselves. At the same time the two would tap a finger on the table, an invisible barrier of magic forming and cutting off their conversation and projecting fakes.

"So, I take it you saw the fireworks a few nights ago?" Dante asked.

"Gotta say, Drake's got a lot of guts taking on a Stray Devil all by himself." Joachim would shrug, picking up his lemonade as he leaned back. "I know I certainly wouldn't want to fight that scaled freak if I had his level of experience."

"Who have you told so far?"

"No one, somehow my phone was destroyed in the explosion and I couldn't get a message out."

"That likely won't last for much longer, given the situation he's put himself in. Although at this point, it's a good starting point on his training."

"I can certainly think of worst people to teach him, although maybe with Akeno being there it isn't a healthy option."

"Ah she'll do fine. He's just bruised with little burns, it'll be a good learning experience."

"You know, just because you can run there and back before I blink doesn't mean you have to rub it in."

"Hehe."

"So all these jokes aside, there's something else you should probably know." Joachim would say, putting his glass down as he looked to Dante. "The Fallen Angels likely know about Drake's… condition."

"You sure?"

"Saw a little blonde in gothic Lolita fly away with a pair of black wings after the explosion. Fits the description of the two winged Mittelt."

"Mittelt… is Kokabiel here?"

"No, although there is a Cadre flying around giving orders. Don't got a name though, wasn't able to get into their base to find out."

"A Cadre with one of the Governor-General's loose cannon's troops running around." Dante hummed, rubbing his chin as he leaned back. "Anything else?"

"Two things: the Cadre has a team that are made up of six to eight winged Fallen, don't got a number yet outside of three. And two… we got an Angel Heir showing up."

"Ugh Me, why is Kuoh suddenly a hotspot?" Dante sighed, placing a hand on his head. "Cadre, high ranking Fallen Angels, the Draconic Apocrypha bearer and now an Angel Heir all popping up. It's going to be a busy week isn't it?"

"Not for us, although I feel Hyoudou's will if he gets a little Holy tonight."

.

.

.

"Dude, that's just in poor taste."

"Well I thought it was clever."

* * *

"Nnngh… ow, my head." Drake would groan, wincing as he wasn't even able to open his eyes yet before the rush of pain hit him. He had known fighting Akeno was a hopeless battle, but he wasn't quite expecting waking up to the amount of pain he was in.

Although he had to admit, he was expecting to be in a much more excruciating position then what he was in right now. In fact, aside from the headache he felt from the last attack his head felt surprisingly comfortable. He couldn't explain it, but it felt as if he was resting his head on a pillow, confusing him more.

_'What is this? Did they fold my jacket more and used it as a rest for me?'_ The Dragon Slayer would ponder, his vision blinking back slowly, albeit his sight was blurry so he couldn't make much sense on his surroundings. _'It's really comfy though, it feels so soft.'_

"Ara Ara, feeling better Drake?" Hearing the Queen who knocked him out's voice giggle, Drake's eyes would narrow slightly in order to get a more focused sight from his blurry vision.

"Eh?" He'd question once his vision focused, realizing he was looking up to Akeno's face. His eyes would then slowly widen in realization when he discovered his position; his head resting on her lap while his sight of her face was partially obscured by her breasts.

"EH!?" Feeling his strength temporarily return, Drake scrambled to his side and gain a small distance from his senior. "W-What was going on!?" He would demand, pointing to the Devil with a bright blush on his face.

"…Senpai kicked your ass." Koneko spoke, getting him to notice the members of the Peerage were around the Queen.

"After you fell unconscious, Akeno-san and Buchou were transferring a small amount of their magic into you. It's roughly similar to how Devils heal each other, but due to you being a human the process took longer. So Akeno-san made sure to keep you comfortable while you were out." Kiba explained.

"O-Oh… that makes sense." Drake would say, the reasoning putting sense to his more recovered state. Although he still felt a stinging across his body, lasting effects from the lightning Akeno hit him with. "Thank you for treating me, you really could've just let me heal on my own."

"Nonsense, I injured you so I had a responsibility to heal and care for you." Akeno said, smiling as she did. "You are my kouhai as well, you're my responsibility."

"Yeah, but I lost. You shouldn't have to heal me when I asked you to go all out like that." The Dragon Slayer would then attempt to get up, grunting as his chest flared in pain.

"You should take it easy. Our healing was extremely limited since we couldn't move you to somewhere to allow more access for our healing." Rias warned, the Devils getting up to go help him.

"Never knew Devils had natural healing… Granny left that out of her notes for some reason." He noted, managing to get to a knee before Kiba got to his side and helped him up. "Thanks…"

"No problem."

"So Drake, do you see why we wanted to pull back on your magic training?" Rias would ask, looking to the Dragon Slayer. The sheer ease of Akeno's victory made it blatantly clear he was unfit to properly test his magic against a more experienced opponent. And with the results she had expected the boy to understand why he had to take this process slower, Dragon Slayer or not.

"No… not really!" In a display of the exact opposite of what was expected, the Dragon Slayer went from visibly in pain to shaking with excitement. "That was such a rush! Akeno-senpai had so much power behind her magic; aside from Granny I hadn't seen someone use a spell with as much efficiency! I don't know what you were thinking Rias-senpai, this is the perfect addition for my training!"

"…Huh?" The redhead would simply respond, taken back by the rather upbeat response to his defeat. "That's… that's what you have to say?"

"Yeah! Akeno-senpai is more than strong enough to help me train for an extended time. She took me down in three hits, three! If she holds back during future spars I can get better practice in fighting another magic user! This is perfect!" Drake would then go to bow towards Akeno, remembering his manners as he did. "If you would be as kind to agree, senpai! I feel I could really benefit from training with you like this!"

"Are you sure you'd want to skip straight to magic combat like that?" Rias questioned. "Easing you in with Koneko would serve better in the long run, and give you a better chance to prepare your physical body for the burden Dragon Slayer magic can have on your body."

"I've been throwing punches most of my life, I already think I've got that down." The boy would admit, standing straight up again and rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, I still want to train with Ko-chan. She's crazy strong and nimble making her helpful in improving my reaction timing, but Akeno-senpai can properly teach me what I've been lacking: magic control. I throw my power out wildly, and with Fire Dragon Slayer spells that could end up burning me if I don't have it under control. I need to test my limits so that I can prepare myself for when I have to give everything I have."

Seeing the dedication in Drake's eyes, Rias couldn't help but admit his desire to develop was admirable. He was being reckless in throwing so much into his path for training, especially when they've only been at it for a few days. However it was obvious the battle with the Stray Devil was a fresh reminder that he's already been forced to rush his development. And knowing the potential situation at hand with the knowledge of Fallen Angels present in her territory, the need to fight will likely come again.

Given his possession of a Sacred Gear Drake was no doubt going to be a target for the Fallen to target. The Devil heiress didn't like it, but as it stood they didn't have the luxury of putting him through the steps like she would wish. Then there was also the matter of a rumor going around about Sacred Gear users disappearing, potentially being killed and harvested for their Sacred Gear of worse.

"If Akeno is willing to do so… then I will not object to it." Rias would eventually relent, turning to her friend as she did. "Would you be okay with that?"

"I'd be more than happy to, especially if my kouhai asks with such a cute face." Akeno would smile, pleased to be of help in developing the residential Dragon Slayer.

"Yes! Grade-A magic training here I come!" Drake would cheer, pumping his fists up with a bright grin. "I can't wait to see how strong I'll get now! With Akeno-senpai training me I bet I'll be strong enough to fight… to fight… oh…" The boy's enjoyment would visibly take a hit, his arms slowly lowering as he looked to his palms. "That's right… I might have to fight her…"

"Are you okay Drake?" Kiba would ask, putting a supportive hand on his shoulder as he did.

"Yeah… no… I don't know. I guess… it's just a little bittersweet." He would answer, looking at his hands with a somber expression. "I'm finally going to get real training, but now that training might be preparing me to fight someone I care about."

"The Fallen Angel you told us about, right?" Rias would guess, recalling the information the boy had told them in regards to her. He didn't say much excluding her name and what she was doing, scoping out Hyoudou and monitoring his Sacred Gear for irregularities.

"That's the one."

"You think she's going to make some kind of move soon?"

"I don't know. I've never been good at guessing what Raynare was thinking." He would admit. "She was always hard for me to understand, but now I barely could even recognize her. And with what happened before… I just have a bad feeling in my gut."

"I wish I didn't have to be the one to tell you, but whatever past you two shared is gone now." Rias said, seeing the boy lower his head and hide his eyes behind his hair giving her a pinch of guilt. Despite it though, she knew it had to be said to him. "She's now a part of the Fallen Angels forces, and she's with a group with no authorization to be here. The chances you will have to fight her are high, and with your standing it you may be forced to-"

"No, I refuse to go there." The Dragon Slayer didn't let the Devil finish; however he knew well where she was going. "I can't go that far, not after everything… she's my friend and I won't let her go down this path." Raising his head back up, Drake would look to the church at the outskirt of Kuoh, tightening his fists as embers formed at his knuckles. "It's hard for me to believe she's that far gone, I won't fight intending to kill my friends."

"She may not share that philosophy."

"Then I'll beat the sense back into her!" The boy shouted, more to himself as the embers sparked into flames, up to his elbows engulfed in flames. The fire would only burn for a few seconds, his rage going with it as closed his eyes.

"Are you sure you can do that?" Kiba would ask. "She has years of experience over you, even if you're a fast learned do you think you can win? And what if she doesn't want to listen?"

"I have to try. I owe that to her."

"Even if she threatens Hyoudou?"

"Especially if she threatens Ise." He said with determination, opening his eyes to look ahead into town. "That's when I know she's at her worst, and that she needs me the most."

_'Please Rayn-chan… if it comes to us fighting, let me help you.'_

* * *

_'Oh man oh man oh MAN!'_ Issei would think to himself, the days having flown by to end up where he was now. Just short of the start of his date and his first official one with a girl.

_'I still can't believe this day has finally come! I'll be sure to make sure this is the best day ever for Yuuma and prove that not only can I get a girlfriend, but that my dream for a harem is still possible!'_ He would cheer to himself, grinning like an idiot as he quickly recalled everything that had gone into planning.

_'Drake said the best thing to do was try a movie to start, and then go out for something sweet like ice cream. After that maybe I should try getting her a nice gift or something, that sounds good.'_

"I just hope this goes well, would be a really awkward next day if it ends up totally boned." The boy would say to himself, cringing slightly at the idea of him completely screwing up the date.

"Hi there, you seem like you could use a bit of luck on your side." Issei would jump when he heard someone speak right behind him, turning to see a woman in some strange outfit. "Here, have a flier!"

"W-Well I don't think I-I-okay." Issei would initially attempt to deny the paper, but by the time he could start the woman handed him one of her fliers, walking away immediately after and confusing the boy.

"Your dream will be granted?" Looking down at the flier, the boy would raise an eyebrow in confusion at the strange occult symbol on the flier. It wasn't something he'd expect to just be handed in the middle of town, less by an attractive woman who immediately took off after.

"When there's no trash bin nearby…" He'd mutter to himself, shoving the paper into his pocket. "I don't need some stupid paper to give me good luck, I'm already more than lucky enough!" He would then feel a light tap on his shoulder, turning back around to see Raynare smiling to him, back to hiding in her Yuuma disguise. "Y-Yuuma!?"

"Sorry if I'm late, I got a little busy back home and it too me awhile to get out." The Fallen Angel would lie, keeping the innocent appearance for the boy.

"Oh, that's no problem. I just got here too." Issei would say coolly, waving it off as he smiled in return.

_'SCORE! I finally got to say that!'_

"Well, shall we get started?" Raynare asked, gently grabbing the boy's hand with her own.

"S-Sure thing!"

_'This is the best day ever!'_

_'Ugh, this is the closest he's ever gotten to a woman that isn't his own mother.'_ The Fallen Angel cringed internally, feeling Issei's inner expressions through their physical contact. _'How did a weirdo like him end up being friends with Drake?'_

The two would then head off on the date planned out between Issei and Drake, the boy making sure to follow the advice given to him by his friend to the letter. It had started with going to see a movie first, a cheesy romance film that otherwise would've bored Issei if it weren't for Raynare hugging herself to his arm the whole time, the feeling of her breasts against him having him cheer to himself internally.

They then went to a nearby ice cream parlor, both getting their own treats to enjoy while they talked. The whole time Raynare was over acting to both her ice cream's taste and Issei's stories, building up a stronger faith to the boy with her actions. Although she was more than aware of his wandering gaze to her breasts, mentally rolling her eyes although thankful for his simple tastes.

The two would be with each other for two hours after, the boy smiling happily to himself while Raynare hid her internal cringe with a lovely smile.

_'This has been great, Yuuma's been so much fun and I… I'm so happy to have spent this time with her.'_

_'Oh God this has been almost painful.'_ Raynare's thoughts would contradict Issei's own, the girl having to keep herself in character much more than she expected. _'But the day's over and the night's finally come, so I can at least start the next phase of the plan.'_

"Hey, Issei?" She would speak up, looking over to the boy from his side.

"Yes Yuuma?"

"There's something I wanted to ask you."

"Y-Y-Yeah, what is it?" Issei would stutter, Raynare letting go of his hand and walking up to the park's water fountain.

'_Oh man oh man OH MAN! Is it happening!? Is it really happening!?'_ The boy thought to himself, keeping his composure on the outside as he lost it on the inside. _'A heart filled kiss to end the night!?'_

"Issei, do you believe in-?"

_***SHICK***_

.

.

.

A deafening silence fell between the two as the sound of flesh being stabbed was heard, Issei's instincts flaring as he grew concerned and took a step towards Raynare, only to feel his body catch on itself and a wave of weakness washed over him. A flash of pain followed soon after originating from his chest and getting him to look down.

"…Huh…?" He would murmur in confusion, seeing a steady flow of his blood trail down and evaporate on a strange wire going through him into the ground. The wires were bright, broadcasting a constant silver light. "W-Wha is… **BLAGH**!" Issei would then vomit out blood as ten more wires impaled through his torso into the pavement, cracking the cement with ease.

"No!" Raynare would shout as the wires ripped back through Issei, causing his blood to splatter across the ground before evaporating into thin air. Just as he was about to fall back, the Fallen Angel slid and caught him, preventing him from landing hard on the ground. "Hasama, why did you do that!?"

"Do what, you're job?" Despite his weakness, Issei would manage to turn his head to follow Raynare's line of sight to look up. What he saw was a woman who appeared to be in her mid twenties with crimson eyes, her figure that of pure beauty hidden only by a tight fitting shirt, pants and a loose jacket cut at the midriff. But what caught his limited attention the most was the six-feathered wings protruding from her back, jet black like her hair.

"Lord Mastema told me I could go with the original plan of convincing him to join our side, killing him wasn't necessary!" Raynare would shout back in return, flinching in fear when the woman above her landed suddenly, the clicking of her heels growing closer causing her to lose composure.

"Lord Mastema changed his mind." Hasama said darkly, flipping her wrist up and summoning her wires from her fingertips, the threads creeping towards Raynare as she narrowed her eyes. "Lord Azazel gave a confirmation that Hyoudou was to be eliminated at the first chance, and due to your insistence on not killing him Lord Mastema felt it best to send me in case you failed to complete the task."

_'What are… they talking about?'_ Issei would think to himself, blood flowing from the open holes in his body and the sides of his mouth. _'Kill me… Azazel… Mastema… what is going on…?'_

"B-But I… there's still the concern about Grandeeney, a-and Etheron! Hyoudou is a close friend to him and if he comes after us and she thinks he's in danger she'll-gck!" Raynare would be silenced as Hasama's wires suddenly lashed out, wrapping tightly around her throat as the owner of them twiddled her fingers casually.

"She'll what, Raynare?" Hasama questioned, a smile forming on her lips as she saw the lesser Fallen Angel reach to the wires, desperately trying to keep them from cutting of her breathing. "The Sky Dragon King is but an old whore, no longer fit to even be called a dragon much less a Dragon King. She's frail, nothing compared to our Lord Mastema, you'd do well to remember that."

"P-Plea…se, for… forgive me…" Raynare would choke, her tears forming in her eyes as her oxygen was completely cut off, the added burning from the wires made of Light causing excruciating pain.

"Look at you, pathetic." Hasama would scoff, swiping her hand to the side and dispelling the Light Wires, Raynare panting desperately to get air as she collapsed to her hands and knees. "To think Lord Reynard wasted his time taking you from this wretched human territory. You're a disgrace to all of us."

Hasama would then turn her attention to Issei, his blood beginning to pool around him as he placed a hand over two of the holes over his heart. "Know this, your death is of that a dog faces when it is diseased. Were it not for your Sacred Gear you wouldn't face this fate. Perhaps you should question God why he let you suffer like this when you meet him."

_'_…_Sacred… God… I don't… understand…'_

"Come Raynare, we have to report this to Lord Mastema. Now." The woman would order, taking back off into the air while Raynare looked back to Issei once her breath returned.

"…I'm sorry, I wished to avoid this from happening… for Drake's sake." She would then close her eyes as she looked away, summoning her pair of wings and following Hasama, leaving Issei to bleed out in the park.

_'I… Is this really… it…?'_ He would think, looking up to the moon as he felt his hand slicken with his blood. _'But there's… there's so much I… I didn't get to do…'_ His thoughts then shifted to those he knew, closing his eyes as he felt his eyes begin to sting.

_'Matsuda… Motohama, sorry we won't be able to… hang out anymore…'_

_'Mom, Dad… I wish I was able to do something to make you proud of… but all I'm doing is dying as a boy with a bunch of porno hidden in his room…'_

"Drake…" He'd gasp out in pain, opening his eyes again to stare into the sky. "Kinda wish you… could've pulled a miracle here like… back then, hehehe bleck!" A bittersweet laugh would leave Issei's lips, followed by a cough of blood that stained his chin.

He would then raise his hand up, looking at his own blood as it shined bright in the moonlight. _'Red… crimson just like her… her hair.'_

"If only I… could've met her…" He would say, his hand falling back down into his own blood as he felt his breathing begin to turn shallow. "Rias… Gremory…"

As he felt his consciousness begin to fade, his pocket would begin to turn bright red, glowing with magic. The magic circle on the flier he had received earlier was pulsing with power, building up until an identical circle appeared on the ground behind him. In a bright flash his eyes would close just before he would see the very same woman he was thinking about appear, her Devil wings extending out from her back as she looked down to her.

"So, they've made their move, and you've become another victim." Rias would say, looking sorrowful as she did. "But I can feel it in you, your will to live is beyond that of what even you know. It's how you managed to summon me." She would then reach into her pocket, pulling out a Pawn Evil Piece.

"I shall give you a second chance at life. This time, as a Devil in the service of the House of Gremory." She would announce, her words barely being registered from Issei as his senses faded.

_'Devil…?'_ Was the last thing Issei would feel before losing all feeling and passing out, the last of his strength leaving him as darkness overtook him.

* * *

**(A/N): I cannot explain how happy I am that I've managed to get this chapter out. I've been enjoying Abysswalker, but I really feel the need to give this story some more love. It holds a lot to me as its original version was my biggest inspiration to write. And with this rewrite I plan on doing it more justice and avoid the novice mistakes I made. I can't say a lot as it as now, other than I aim on getting this arc better than my first time doing it. A little fun fact, in the original story I had done the entire Fallen Angels arc in five chapters, making this already longer and less word for word similar.**

**Not much more to say, other than I hope you enjoyed this chapter, especially if you were one of the many waiting for it. Peace!**


	7. New Deal

"Ngh… oh man, my head." Issei groaned, feeling a splitting headache as he woke up. Shifting his covers off, he'd slowly process and numb the pain by rubbing his forehead. "What happened? Last thing I remember was being with Yuuma in the park and then-!"

The boy's eyes then widened in realization, remembering the dozens of wires impale through his body, his blood flashing in his vision for a second before looking around in fear. He saw that he was in a room, clearly not in the park where he remembers bleeding out, but in his dazed state he couldn't recall the familiar place.

He'd then get up frantically, tripping up on the covers and falling off the bed he was on, crashing onto the ground on the back of his head. The impact caused a loud thud to go off, Issei groaning in pain as he struggled to keep a sense of what was going on.

He'd then hear the sound of footsteps approaching the door, turning back up and putting his back against the bed as he saw light on the other end. The door then opened, and for a split second Issei had nearly shouted out in panic, only for the light in the room to turn on and reveal Drake.

"Oh good, you're finally awake." Drake sighed, lowering his hand from the light switch as he did.

"Drake? Is that you? Gah!" Issei gasped in pain, placing his hand on the back of his head as the pain from falling spiked. "W-Where am I?"

"You're at the orphanage, where else?" Drake asked, going over to his friend and helping him up, sitting him back on the bed. "Don't you remember? We planned on hanging out for the entire weekend, we spent the entire week setting it up."

"W-What? No that isn't right, we were planning for my date with Yuuma." Issei stated, looking up to Drake in confusion.

"Yuuma? Who's that?" Drake asked in return, confusing Issei even more.

"Yuuma, you know, the girl who asked me to be her boyfriend."

"Ise, we've gone over this. Your wet dreams aren't signs from God that you're going to get a harem. The sooner you accept that, the sooner getting a girlfriend will be possible for you." Drake said, sitting next to Issei and placing a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"But it wasn't a dream! I swear to the big God up there that Yuuma is real!"

"If she is, then I feel insulted you didn't introduce me to her."

"You've already met her!"

"Whoa, a little hostile there man, calm down." Drake said, recoiling back at Issei's outburst. "Take it easy, maybe you just imagined that."

"No way I did, where's my phone I'll prove you she's real." Issei said, looking around for his phone.

"It's on the nightstand, you put it there before going to bed." Drake answered, pointing to the device.

"Aha!" The boy cheered, reaching for it and turning it on, going to his contacts. "Now I'll show you what I… mean?" The excitement then turned to confusion, the boy running through his contacts looking for Yuuma's info. But no matter how many times he looked up and down, he couldn't find her number. "But I… I know I saved…?"

"You okay man?" Drake asked, seeing the confusion on Issei's face.

"Pictures! I took pictures!" Issei shouted, looking for the photos he took of Yuuma during their time dating. But as he searched through his photos, he was once again left confused as he couldn't find them, despite knowing he took at least three while they were on their date.

"I… I-I-I don't get it. I know I had pictures, I know I saw her, we went on a date yesterday and then-!" Issei then panicked as he tossed his phone down on the bed and looked to his clothes, seeing he was in a simply light green shirt and pants pajamas. Lifting his shirt up, he looked to see if the wounds he suffered from Hasama were still fresh, only to see there weren't even any scars.

"W-W… What is going on?"

"Okay, I can tell you're a little out of it right now." Drake said calmly, patting Issei's shoulder before standing up. "I don't know what's going on, but you should get something in you. I made breakfast for everyone, how about you change and come get something to eat. Sound good?"

"Y-Yeah… sure…" Issei stuttered, needing the time to recollect himself and figure out what was happening.

Drake nodded and stepped out of the room, closing the door and turning around, leaning his back against the door and lightly hitting his head to avoid Issei hearing it. "Well, baby steps. Take it slow and it'll turn out just fine."

He then walked downstairs and went to the kitchen, setting up a plate of bacon and eggs for Issei, getting some toast ready to add onto the boy's breakfast.

"So, how's your brilliant plan working?" Porlyusica questioned, walking up to Drake from behind.

"He's right now trying to make sense of things, Rayn-chan erased the evidence of herself after he died. He'll be going through the motions right now." Drake answered, catching the toast as it sprung out of the toaster to spread butter on it.

"Not that I was against your plan, but were you sure it was the right thing to do?" The woman questioned, giving him a glance as she walked to the other end of the counter, pulling out her own knife to cut up some more fruit.

The question would get Drake to lower his head, thinking back two days ago when he pulled a serious gamble. One that may very easily gotten on Rias' nerves.

* * *

"Rias wait! Don't transform him yet!" Before the Devil could place her Pawn onto Issei's chest, she was interrupted as she heard Drake scream from across the way.

Looking up, she saw him just in time for him to lunge over the fountain, rolling over his shoulder with his arms curled towards his chest. He was panting heavily, implying that he had run all the way here from the orphanage as quickly as he could.

"Drake? What are you doing here?"

"Couldn't sleep… Granny detected extra magic… Fallen feathers… blegh." Drake panted out, exhausted but focused enough to keep moving, going over to Issei's body and dropping to his knees. "Asked for a favor… and ran as fast as I could."

"Drake, I understand if you have something planned, but Hyoudou has no time to wait. If I don't reincarnate him, he'll stay dead." Rias stated, going down next to him and about to place her Pawn piece on Issei.

"Not with these." Drake spoke, unfolding his arms to reveal several small shards of light blue crystals. "Granny made healing lacrima, along with an infusion lacrima to deal with the blood loss."

"Lacrima? How many of those did she have?" Rias questioned in shock, seeing Drake place four healing lacrima in Issei's wounds, putting the infusion lacrima into one of the wounds through his heart before placing both his hands in Issei's blood, creating a dragon magic symbol underneath him. "Those are supposed to be extremely rare, few mines with them even exist."

"She has a supplier, and she learned how to properly divide them to harness smaller ones for more focused healing." Drake then focused his magic into the magic circle, grunting in exertion as a jolt of pain went up his arms, the realization for what Drake was doing hitting her.

"Are you using blood magic!?"

"No! That's reckless and causes serious damage to the user's body!" Drake shouted, sounding offended as he looked down and further pushed his magic into the circle. "I'm synthesizing blood magic with the lacrima and Ise's blood."

"Drake!"

"I won't let him die!" Drake growled, his eyes narrowing as pulsed more of his magic in, the veins in his arms becoming visible from the physical strain.

"If you use blood magic the damages could be permanent, let me revive him and then I can-"

"You said you give everyone a choice!" Drake interrupted, grinning for a second as he saw Issei's wounds begin to close and the infusion lacrima melting into his body. "He's just a human, a regular everyday human who doesn't even know what just killed him. He… ng! He deserves the opportunity to at least know what he'll get dragged into. So please… let me do this."

The Devil would look at the boy with a neutral gaze, the heiress attempting to get a read on just what he was doing. His action alone went against her, not in the sense of a declaration of rebellion but he had to of been aware she would wish for Issei to join her side. His Sacred Gear alone was invaluable and would benefit the Devils if it was the one they believed it to be. By all means she should be attempting to stop this.

"Come on Ise, hold onto that light." But taking further look at the Dragon Slayer, she recognized the determined yet desperate eyes he had as he looked down to his friend. She knew the two were close to an extent, but to see Drake put himself through the pain of using blood magic; a type that even with the assistance of the lacrima caused serious pain to the user, had the Devil take a second glance down to Issei's body.

_'That's right… unlike them, he doesn't even know…'_ Closing her eyes, Rias then considered the situation set before her and taking a few seconds before determining what to do next.

"Ngh… almost… just a little longer…!" Drake gritted through his teeth, the pain in his arms increasing as his veins became more visible, now going all the way up to his shoulders from the spells strain. Issei's wounds were mostly healed, however the fatal blows on his heart were still present, the regeneration slowing as Drake's focus was drifting from the pain. He was prepared for the pain to grow more, but just as he expected the next spike, he felt the strain slowly waiver. The Dragon Slayer was confused but turning to his side to see Rias putting her own magic to the spell both answered the question and surprised him.

"R-Rias…?"

"Devils are more attuned with blood magic, it still causes pain, but with both of us putting magic into it the strain should be much lower." Rias responded, the pain in Drake's arms dropping more while Issei's remaining wounds were nearly closed.

"…Thank you." Drake whispered, looking back to the side as his veins slowly returned to normal, his strain much more manageable thanks to the heiress' assistance.

"Healing him will require Lady Porlyusica's spells, this solution as a catalyst will only keep him alive for a few minutes." She explained, understanding the spell the Dragon Slayer had used. "You'll need to get back to her quickly."

"I will, I won't let him die." Drake said with determination.

"See to it." She stated, her disappointed and conflicted tone finally registering for the Dragon Slayer.

_'Oh man, now you've done it.'_ He'd think, although shaking the moment of confliction aside the second it came. _'I'll deal with the consequences with Rias later, for now I have to focus on Ise.'_

_'And then… find out what's going on.'_

* * *

"Yes, I do." Drake answered, putting his knife to the side as he finished buttering the toast. "Ise doesn't have a clue about the supernatural world. I don't care what Sacred Gear is in him, I won't let him just be thrown into this world without at least knowing a bit about it. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I know it'd be an unbearable burden for him to have everything dropped on him."

"Rather mature, how different of you brat." Porlyusica stated, her face remaining the same but a tone of appreciation was present between them. "You made the right choice."

"You're only saying that because I stopped Rias from reincarnating him."

"Better Hyoudou figures himself out before he's enthralled by a filthy Devil."

"Granny, that's rude." Drake sighed, although knowing Porlyusica's standing on the supernatural was just something he's lived with for the past couple years now.

_"Sh…ctual…ells…d."_

"What was that?" Porlyusica said, stopping her cutting with one last firm stroke that impaled her knife into the cutting board. She had heard Drake mutter under his breath, but low enough that she couldn't fully hear it. And for him to avoid her hearing, he actively had to make sure his voice was extremely low.

"N-Nothing!"

"Don't try that with me brat! What did you say!?"

"I said "She actually is just a cranky old lady" after your comment!" Drake shouted, getting Porlyusica to grab his cheeks and pull on them.

"You brat! After I give you several lacrima to save your friend you call me cranky!? You should know better manners, I taught you that much!"

"You only did it to spite Rias!" Drake shouted back, returning the gesture and pulling the older woman's cheeks in retaliation. "Don't act like you're a pure hearted saint!"

"The deed was still good, you dim-witted brat!"

* * *

"So, feeling better?" Drake asked as he and Issei walked to school in uniform, the latter having borrowed one of Drake's blue shirts in replacement to his normal red.

"A little, I'm at least thinking a little more clearly." Issei responded, rubbing the side of his head. "But seriously, you've got to be pulling my leg right now right? There's no way you've forgotten Yuuma, she's impossible to just forget."

"I hate being the bearer of bad news Ise, but I still don't have a clue on who you're talking about." Drake lied, shrugging his shoulder as he adjusted his school bag's strap. "Unless this is the Yuuma from one of your magazines, I have never heard you talk about a Yuuma. Especially one you've met and wanted to be your girlfriend."

"It just doesn't make sense. I swear I remember meeting her and introducing you and… the GUYS!" Issei shouted, grabbing and shaking Drake's shoulders as a spark of realization hit him. "I had Yuuma meet Matsuda and Motohama as well! They couldn't forget about her!"

"Okay maybe that's the case but please stop you're going to make me sick!" Drake shouted, grabbing Issei's wrists as the boy continued to shake him.

"No time, we're kicking it into high gear!" Issei then stopped shaking Drake, only to grab onto one of his arms and start booking it, the Dragon Slayer stumbling as he ran. "I'll prove to you I'm not imagining things!"

"Why the hell are you so fast!? You run like a girl every other day except now!?"

"This is important!"

"So is general cardio, yet you suck at that too!"

"Just keep up!"

_'Matsuda and Motohama will know! No way can they forget someone as hot as Yuuma!'_

* * *

"What do you mean you don't remember Yuuma!?" Issei shouted. Getting onto the school grounds, Issei and Drake had found Matsuda and Motohama at the hill they all usually met at. And seconds in the brown-haired student asked them about Yuuma, getting a less than desired result.

"Of course we remember Yuuma, she's one of our favorite actresses for M-!"

"Not that Yuuma! Yuuma Amano! She went to a nearby school! She has long black hair and shinning violet eyes! She was my girlfriend dudes!"

"Dude, none of us have dated anyone." Motohama responded.

"I did! Me and Yuuma went on a date this weekend! Drake and I planned the whole thing and I told you two about it!"

"Did he hit his head or something this weekend?" Matsuda asked, whispering to Drake as Issei ranted.

"Maybe before he went to bed? Can't say he did before."

"Don't talk behind my back like that!" Issei shouted as he pointed to the three, getting them to all jolt at the action. "Come on guys, you seriously had forgotten about Yuuma? How could anyone forget about Yuuma!?"

"I wouldn't expect much from them, they do collectively share four brain cells." All three boys cringed when they heard the newest voice, all instantly recognizing Kiryuu's voice.

"What are you doing here Kiryuu!?" Matsuda shouted as the boys all turned, facing the girl who had a smirk on her face. There wasn't much the girl stood out in, aside from her glasses, messy brown hair and yellow eyes she appeared like any average school girl.

"Well, I was in the neighborhood and heard idiocy outcry, so I wanted to see what was up. Unsurprisingly you four are the source."

"Well look, no one asked for you to show off, so why not just go bother someone else with your 24/7 remarks for a change?" Issei stated to the girl, getting a look of faint hurt.

"Aw, but you four are the most entertaining. And I can't just walk away when the residential goldmine is present." She said, looking to Drake with a smile. "Isn't that right Drake?"

"Nope, not falling for any bait Aika." Drake responded.

"I'm patient. You'll end up in the box sooner or later."

"Look Aika, I know antagonizing us is sort of your thing, but today isn't the day." Drake sighed. "Ise's is having some memory problems and it's really getting to his head. So we're trying to help him through it slowly."

"He spends time around you, head problems are normal."

"Oi!"

"And besides that, didn't he get his head hit hard a few days ago? Maybe the effects finally caught up?"

"Wait, what?" Issei asked, looking between the four as he did.

"Oh yeah, the kendo club knocked us hard when we got caught on Friday." Matsuda realized. "Maybe the blow just made you think there was some Yuuma chick actually interested in you?"

"He did get hit pretty hard, they weren't very merciful that day." Motohama agreed, recalling the memory.

"A blow… to the head?' Issei muttered, placing his hand on the side of his head. "But I don't remember, I swear I knew a Yuuma. We were dating and…"

"Issei, if a girl gets near you it's either coincidence or they're about to beat your ass." Kiryuu stated, shifting her glasses as she did. "The latter is the most common occurrence, even with Drake around."

"Why all the shade?" Before a response could be given to Drake, the bell started to ring, signaling that classes were about to start soon.

"Shit, we need to move!" Matsuda shouted, grabbing Motohama and Issei. "We'll talk about this later! See you then Drake!"

"Yeah, see ya!" Drake shouted in return, chuckling as the three ran off before turning to Kiryuu. "Did you really have to be so aggressive on me? I think they would've bought the average dick joke instead of constantly making fun of me."

"Hey, I got him thinking differently like you asked didn't I?" Kiryuu countered, placing a hand on her hip while holding out the other. "Speaking of, I believe we had an agreement?"

"Christ, twist my arm why don't you." Drake grumbled as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small booklet and placing it in her hand. "The latest issue of that manga you read, along with the adjusted sizing to make it easier to carry."

"Ah, much appreciated." Kiryuu smiled, putting the manga into her school bag. "That'll be a good read for later."

"I don't get why you read that junk, it seems too complicated for me." Drake said, looking away as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Most things are, besides it's just some dumb fun for the most part." She stated, wagging her finger at him. "I bet you'd like some of the characters if you actually gave it a read. There's no shortage of sexy girls in it either."

"Maybe you should recommend it to Ise then."

"I tried, but he said Hayato was a boring character."

"Hmmm." He'd hum, the two going into silence for a second before Drake's nose twitched, picking up a familiar scent.

_'Oh crap.'_

"Ah Drake, it's good to see you." Rias spoke up, approaching the two. "I see you managed your weekend with Hyoudou appropriately. How's he feeling?"

"Good, a bit of a headache but aside from that he's moving fine." He responded, scratching the side of his head awkwardly. "What about you? Was your weekend eventful?"

"Just a lot of paperwork, having to file reports and write a letter to my brother about recent events. Outside of that, I've been rather uneventful."

"O-Oh, I see." The Dragon Slayer cringed to himself in concern, knowing well those reports were likely of his interruption of turning Issei into her Pawn. And if she sent one of those to her brother, he was easily able to pick up that he was important in the Devil hierarchy. He didn't recognize a Gremory outside of the family, but that didn't mean her brother may have been married outside the family or required to drop the name by formality.

"On the matter of one of the reports, I would like to discus one of them with you. Are you free during lunch to talk?" The redhead asked.

"Yeah I… I don't have any plans." Drake answered, swallowing spit down in concern as she smiled and walked past them, the Devil patting his cheek playfully as she went by.

"Then I'll see you there. Akeno will be there as well, so be sure not to buy a drink. She'll be happy to make you some tea." Rias said with her enchanted smile, leaving the two to themselves as Drake stood in concern.

_'I'm so dead. She's mad, I know she's mad. She didn't show signs but she's definitely mad.'_

.

.

.

"Was that a booty call?"

"Aika, what the fuck!?"

"Aha! That wasn't a no!"

"Of course it's a no! What is wrong with you, read a room!"

* * *

"S-So… you wanted to talk to me?" Drake asked, sitting across from Rias as they sat in the ORC's clubroom. The Dragon Slayer was evidentially on edge, nervous for what the Devil heiress was currently thinking. Aside from taking away the prime chance to get her Pawn, he had likely added a load of work to her on the involvement of the Fallen Angels. Throw in the training they've been giving him, and it's rather obvious that so far the agreement between the two has been exclusively beneficial in his favor, which could end up being a problem.

"Yes, there's a few things I wished to discuss with you in regard to two nights ago." Rias responded, thanking Akeno as the Queen placed two cups of tea on the table between them. "I felt it's important that we don't wait, considering the event that transpired."

"I'm sorry for acting out of line like I did!" The boy apologized. "I know you were aiming to make him a Devil, but I couldn't just ignore what was going on! I knew Rayn-chan was watching him and I didn't do anything to stop her! So I used blood magic and healed him despite the reincarnation being the safest bet! I'm really, really sorry and please don't be mad!"

.

.

.

"You… thought I was mad?" Rias questioned after Drake's long-winded apology, staring at him in amusement as he bowed his head. "Is that why you were so cautious when I asked to talk to you?"

"Kind of, Aika's weird." Drake admitted, then looking to the redhead in confusion. "Wait, are you not mad? I thought after stealing away your chance to turn him into a Devil you'd-"

"I will admit I was disappointed I couldn't preform the ritual, especially with as late of an arrival as you had been." She stated, sipping her tea before continuing. "But you had brought up a fair point, all of my servants were aware of the supernatural when I had given them the offer to become Devils. Hyoudou on the other hand has grown up as a normal human with no knowledge of even the true concept of magic."

"So… you're not mad."

"I hold no ill-will towards you for your action. However, we will need to go over necessary reparations for the sudden development as well as payment for my services." Rias answered.

"Wait, payment!? What service!?"

"Rias had assisted you with the blood magic ritual, allowing Hyoudou-kun enough time to be healed by Lady Porlyusica." Akeno reminded, getting Drake's jaw to drop as the Devils smiled assuredly. "Such a service does require some form of compensation, as well as directly interfering with Devil affairs."

"…Dang it." Drake groaned, hanging his head in defeat. What do I owe you?"

"We can discuss that later, for now we should stay on topic." Rias said, looking to the Dragon Slayer as her authoritative aura returned. "What's Hyoudou's condition?"

"In terms of health, he's fully healed from his injuries." Drake answered, relaxing as he grabbed his tea and took a sip of it. "Granny was able to heal what I couldn't, and the day he was unconscious allowed his strength to return. Although… there might be a problem."

"Is his Sacred Gear reacting?" The heiress questioned, getting a nod from Drake.

"The sudden interaction with magic followed by no synthesized balance being reached, it seems his Sacred Gear is attempting to wake itself up. Granny was able to put a spell to hold it down, but now that he's awake the seal is weakened. He was having headaches, and they've been getting worse since this morning. I think Ddraig is trying to force his power to surface."

"Ddraig?"

"Rias, we both know Ise has the Boosted Gear. There's no need to play ignorant." Drake called the Devil out, putting his cup down as he leaned forward. "I think the magic having pierced through him, followed by the blood magic ritual has tapped into his own magic supply. Ddraig, whether he means it or not is forcing his power out, and at the rate he's going it could end up messy."

"You think he could be a threat?"

"Not in the "go on a rampage" kind of way." Drake stated. "I can only see two potential events happening. It awakens in a weakened state and the magic released from him is safely removed. Or… the magic is too much and he preforms one of the Boosted Gear's transformations."

"Could his body even handle that?" Akeno asked, getting a negative in response.

"Most likely if he transforms his body will instantly be torn apart and the magic releases in a massive detonation. Best case scenario there is he only puts a hole in the center of Kuoh. If not, all of Kuoh becomes a crater."

"I assume you have steps to prevent that outcome?" Rias asked. True that by most standards there wasn't a lot of stakes outside of a Sacred Gear user being lost. But the Devil had a responsibility to Kuoh, it's people were under her protection. And if they were to all be killed, she would have failed her own people and risked showing weakness. And at the time they were in, any weakness shown could result in war.

"The seal's holding for now, and I know the spell Granny used in case I need to strengthen it. I'm going to be sticking with him for the day, make sure everything goes well and the Boosted Gear doesn't explode." He answered, looking into his tea as he saw his reflection, his hand flinching when he saw his right eye flash red. "The spell works well, but Ise waking up has just temporarily weakened it. If I can get it on him while he's awake, it'll do the trick and keep his power dormant again."

"And if you can't?"

"…I know the importance of me being able to do it." He admitted, his hands clenching his knees as he narrowed his eyes. "I'm a Dragon Slayer, he has a Dragon Sacred Gear… I could end it in one hit and he wouldn't even know what happened. There's a few hundred people in Kuoh, it's… it's my responsibility to do it if I can't control it."

"But that doesn't make it easier." Rias said, giving the boy a sympathetic stare as he closed his eyes in frustration.

"I've known Ise for years… he's like my brother." Drake said. "I don't want to have it come down to that, but I know my decision is what's put it on the table. Granny said it's only a five percent chance of happening, but that's a chance I have to kill my best friend. I don't want that… but I did it. So I have to be the one."

"But it's less than likely to happen, it shouldn't have to go that far."

"If something can go wrong, it will."

"Murphy's Law, I didn't know you take philosophy."

"I don't, Granny said that's the reason she ended up with me." Drake chuckled bittersweetly, attempting to get his mind off the current subject. "Have I said enough about that? Is there anything else you want to know?"

"Yes, it should be enough." Rias answered, showing pity to the boy as she allowed the subject to die down. "This Fallen Angel you know, Raynare? Do you think she's a threat now?"

"Rayn-chan has talent, but I don't think she is attempting anything now." Drake responded. "The wounds on Ise couldn't have been her, it was too precise, too narrow. She hasn't likely seen too many fights, so I think she only knows how to use Light Spears."

"So you think someone else attacked Hyoudou-kun?"

"Maybe she did, but I don't believe Rayn-chan would do that. Not the one I know." Drake said, looking to the side for a second before looking towards Rias. "And besides, why would she kill him? Wouldn't it be better for the Fallen Angels if they convinced Ise to join them? Two Mid-Tier Longinus users, both who's Sacred Gears are near High-Tier would be better than just the one. It doesn't add up."

"Two?"

"…Azazel has the Vanishing Dragon on his side as well." Drake detailed, surprising the two Devils. "I think that's why he sent Rayn-chan. She knows Kuoh and he knows I wouldn't do anything to hurt her. She was the perfect choice to get Ise and get both Heavenly Dragons in his ranks."

"The Vanishing Dragon… you're certain?"

"I know them personally. We… grew up for a few years together." He explained. "Rayn-chan as well, the three of us were all in Granny's orphanage early on."

"That's why you feel so positive on her."

"Rayn-chan… she was an important part of my development. Even if I thought she was capable of this, I have the obligation to pull her back into the light. I owe her that much."

"Then I hope you can do that; however I do not feel a Fallen Angel would simply change their views because of a past relation."

"And you judge Granny for her views." Drake chuckled. "I know Fallen Angels and Devils have a rough history, but it's hard for me to simply stand by and let her go down this path. There's bad Fallen Angels, really bad. But I don't think Rayn-chan is one of them. I think there's someone else behind what happened to Ise, and I intend to find out."

"What are you planning on doing? Track down their headquarters and asking them?" Rias humored, laughing to herself for a second.

.

.

.

"Drake, please don't tell me that was actually your plan."

"Okay, I won't."

"Drake, they had attacked Hyoudou-kun. As far as you know, they'll kill you on sight." Akeno stated, both Devils now concerned for the plan the Dragon Slayer apparently had in mind.

"I-I mean, maybe they won't?"

"Say you're right, and someone else gave the kill order for Hyoudou, what's stopping them from just killing you when you find them?" Rias questioned. "I understand you're looking for answers, but you can't just go digging like this without expecting a fight."

"Your training has gone well, but as it stands you have very little chance defeating a Fallen Angel with only two wings." Akeno informed. "And there's no way of us knowing if there may be a Fallen One with them that has four wings, or how many there could be. A fight is inevitable, and I say this out of concern that you would die."

"The best current course of action is to watch over Hyoudou and ease him in to the supernatural, whatever the Fallen Angels are planning, we will discover it and take care of it." Rias recommended. "Kuoh is our responsibility, we shall do what we can to ensure the population's safety. That includes the both of you."

"But I… I understand." Drake wanted to argue, but he knew deep down they were right. He couldn't even fight a single Stray Devil, even if it was a Rook the fact of the matter is that any of the Fallen Angels in Kuoh would've been able to easily deal with it. And if there really were ones with two pairs of wings or more, it couldn't even be considered a fight. Suicide would be more appropriate, and as much as he wanted to get answers, he couldn't risk getting himself killed when Issei was an apparent target.

"I know it must be hard, but please trust that we will do whatever we can to guarantee you and Hyoudou's safety. We'll take care of everything, just focus on being a high school student and a friend for him until this all gets resolved."

"I'll do what I can, just promise me that if the chance comes, let me try talking to Rayn-chan."

"You have my word." Rias promised, smiling to the boy as she did. "Now, I believe we still have some time before classes start again. It would be rude to just let Akeno's tea go cold, would it?"

"O-Oh, right." Drake would stutter, picking up his cup as he'd take another sip. The conversation was far from what he'd hope, but he had to take what he could get. Compared to the Devils in this school, he was just an afterthought of a mage. Even with his Sacred Gear he was only so relevant, the Fallen Angels' presence requires their full focus, which means he has to be the one to watch Issei. Even if he wanted to see Raynare, to figure out what the hell was happening, he was more needed with his friend. So all he could do was pray and hope that Rias can handle things without him.

* * *

"Coana's Treasure?"

"Nope."

"Usurper of the Grand Bane?"

"Absolutely not."

"…Lily and the-"

"Guys what the hell? When you said movie night I assumed actual movies, not your porn stashes." Drake responded after ten minutes of straight denying the "films" Matsuda and Motohama were recommending.

After classes ended, he had met with them and Issei to figure out what they were going to do, with the apparent winner being a movie night. And while at first glance it was a good idea, a way to hang out without putting much stress on Issei, Drake's memories of who he hangs out with was immediately refreshed when they got to Matsuda and Motohama's dorm.

"Oh come on, it isn't like they're that bad." Motohama rolled his eyes. "You're just really boring and into the vanilla shit, you could at least attempt to watch them."

"Gang bang. Rape in multiple scenes. Tentacle monsters." Drake listed off, counting on his hand as he did. "Those are the key elements in the last three "movies" you wanted. I can go back and deconstruct the previous fifty if you'd prefer." Ever since meeting the duo through Issei, he had been to their dorm a few times. And throughout his visits when they were playing games and it wasn't his turn, he'd investigate what they watched for entertainment. One look at each of the back covers of the cases were all he needed, along with bleach with the images seen.

"I'm kind of with Drake on this one, can we just watch something more tame today?" Issei asked, rubbing his head as he sat on the couch in a slouched position. As the day went on, he was slowly looking worse, the affects of his magic boiling in him making him feel sick. But as far as he knew, it was just a cold coming up, that or he ate something that he definitely shouldn't. And at the top of it all, his headache was getting worse by the minute, the medicine he was taking barely fixing it and just numbing it.

"Spoil sports." Matsuda muttered before picking out an actual movie. "Sure, I guess just today we can go with that. But next time we're picking the movie."

"If that's what you can really call them." Drake chuckled, sitting at the side of the couch on the floor while the others took their usual spots on the furniture. As the movie played, Drake's eyes went up to Issei every minute, keeping an eye on him to make sure if things were taming out. Even with a more basic movie with little action, the strain in him was becoming more and more apparent, Ddraig's magic almost poisoning him as the seal was barely managing to keep it contained.

And it was becoming apparent that he was beginning to register noises and light drastically more; wincing at a slightly louder sound or closing his eyes in pain when a dull flash was going off. It was getting to be a little too much for him, the boy beginning to sweat profusely after only an hour into the movie.

_'What is going on?'_ He'd think as he groaned in pain.

"Yo man, are you okay?" Matsuda asked, pausing the movie as he did. "You don't look too hot right now."

"I think I… ate something bad for lunch." He answered, placing a hand to his mouth as he felt himself nearly throw up.

"Here, let me help you up." Drake said, getting up and helping him walk to the bathroom before Issei stumbled in, letting the contents of his stomach out into the toilet as he couldn't hold it in.

"Oh god, that didn't feel any better…"

"Take it easy, you probably got some more in you." Drake said, kneeling down next to his friend as he continued to puke, a few seconds in between each time as he vomited out.

Issei had remained like that for nearly twenty minutes, just puking whatever out he could while Drake and the others looked after him. When the vomiting finally went down, Matsuda had handed him a bottle of water, the drink not even lasting thirty seconds as he chugged it down desperately.

"Oh damn, what the hell was in your food man?"

"I've never seen you this sick before Ise, are you sure you didn't catch something?"

"I… don't know. I don't think I… I caught anything…" Issei responded.

"I think it's time I got you home." Drake said, helping Issei stand again before looking to Matsuda and Motohama. "Can you two call his parents for me? Make sure they have the door unlocked for when I get there?"

"Yeah, no problem." Motohama nodded. "We'll call Porlyusica as well, let her know you're helping him out."

"Thanks guys."

"Sorry…" Issei groaned as Drake walked him to the door.

"Ah don't say that, can't control if you get sick out of nowhere." Matsuda waved his worries off. "We'll just have to meet up again later, but not until you're feeling back to your old self okay?"

"Sure thing, see ya guys…"

* * *

"Damn Ise, you were really letting your gut empty out." Drake commented, keeping one of Issei's arms over his shoulders as he helped him walk straight. "You sure you don't have something?"

"Why do you care? Not like you ever… get sick…" Issei chuckled weakly, recalling that in all the years he's known the Dragon Slayer, he never once saw him with a fever.

"Just asking, making sure if the school might have something by the end of the week." Of course he knew what was wrong with Issei, but Drake knew he couldn't just say "Hey, you have a dragon spirit inside of you trying to force your Sacred Gear to awaken, oh and the supernatural world exists!" to him. More than a few questions and a very likely chance of a premature explosion of his magic. So for now he had to wait for a moment that Issei was out of focus and no one was around. He didn't know any type of memory wiping magic, so if he was caught using magic he would be in deep water.

Issei wasn't much of a problem, but while it was dark out there was still a good handful of people walking around Kuoh. So getting that window of opportunity was difficult to come by, and it certainly was putting him against the clock. The seal didn't have a long casting period, but a single slip up could attract more problems than solutions.

He needed an opening soon, as he felt Issei's body slowly heating up. And if he could feel it, the heat he was generating was going to become too much for the boy soon. As he found his friend stumble the longer they walk, he'd look down to see the signs of small scorch marks being left by his feet.

"D-Drake, stop for a second." Issei groaned. "I need a second… I feel like I'm burning up."

"Are you sure? A few more minutes and you'd be home."

"Y-Yeah I need to… I have to relax." He panted, Drake looking around to see they entered the park. Bringing Issei over to the fountain, he'd sit him down on the side, looking around as Issei reached down and began to splash water on his face.

'_I don't see anyone.'_ The Dragon Slayer thought, looking back down to Issei as he continued to reach his hands in the water and practically chuck it back on him. Although the water seemed to help, he saw it nearly evaporate the moment his hands left the fountain, even less lasting when it landed on his face.

'_Looks like it's now or never.'_

"Oh God, why is it so damn hot!" Issei shouted in agony, his losing his balance and putting his arm in the water to catch himself. "I feel like I'm burning to a crisp!" The boy's eyes then widened as he saw the water begin to boil, his hand trembling as vapor steamed up from where his arm was. "W-What the hell is going on…!?"

"Don't worry Ise, just give me a minute and it'll be good." Drake promised, putting his hand on Issei's back as a white magic circle formed on his palm. He couldn't see anyone close by, and with Issei's magic reaching critical levels he couldn't risk waiting until he got home. So he had to preform the seal now, while there was still time.

_'Even I'm starting to feel it.'_ Drake winced, feeling the heat radiating from Issei's magic sting him slightly. _'If it isn't controlled now, he may not even explode. This much heat, his body would turn to sludge before then.'_ He then narrowed his eyes in determination, letting his magic pulse as he refused to allow that to happen.

Feeling the spell was just about complete, Drake's nose would twitch as he picked up a distinct smell. The smell added by his instincts suddenly flaring made his body react instantly, grabbing Issei's blazer with both hands before pushing off the fountain. As they landed on the ground, Drake would look back at the fountain to see several spears made entirely of Light impaled into the water and stone, fading away as the magic was cut.

"Damn, looks like the reports on your nose is accurate after all." Drake's entire body froze in fear as he heard a voice in the air, immediately registering the Holy presence over them.

"D-Drake?' Issei groaned, seeing Drake's nervous expression, the Dragon Slayer sweating as he swallowed the saliva stuck in his throat.

'_Damn it, right now of all times?'_ The Dragon Slayer cursed mentally, a nervous grin spreading across his mouth as he stared up at their assailant.

A man with pure white hair and silver eyes flew right over them, a Fallen Angel with six black feathered wings protruding from his back as he effortlessly kept himself in the air. When Issei looked up, his eyes widened in recognition, recalling the look of the wings to when he last saw Yuuma.

_'What… what is going on?'_

"H-Hey, what are you doing here?" Drake asked, pushing himself up to his feet to stand between the Fallen Angel and Issei. "This is town is looked after by people who aren't exactly your biggest fans. Coming out here all by yourself is rather dangerous, isn't it?"

"Oh, talking about the Devils?" The Fallen Angel smirked, seeing the Dragon Slayer stood anxiously. "You know the story behind these wings, neither of those royal bitches are strong enough to fight me on their own. And besides, I don't see any Devils here. So I feel confident enough on my own."

"But attacking a Sacred Gear user is frowned upon by most sides, attacking the both of us will look bad on your part."

"Hmph, maybe. But not if my orders are explicitly to kill you!" He laughed, summoning several Light Spears around him before firing them forward.

* * *

**(A/N): Wow, this took a lot longer to post than I wanted. The sad part is I had the written for a long time, but the last part of this chapter had me stuck on finding inspiration to write. But now I'm done, and now I've gotten a whole new set of work I have a head of me.**

**Not going to lie, a part of the initial delay was also an interesting point brought up to me, and I got it in for with Issei's survival. And in doing this, it changes a good portion of the earlier arcs that I've had to plan through. Although I actually like the concept, as it gives more to change this story and make it a more effective rewrite to the original I had written long ago.**

**I have the plans, and hopefully I can make this story even better with these new changes. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you in the next. Peace!**


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